Steadstyle Chicago
	April 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Killer Joe Re-Visited Thirteen weeks is a long time for a storefront theater to run a production to full houses, but the Profiles Theatre production of "Killer Joe", the first play by Tracy Letts just did this and more!  The more is the moving of this startling, powerful drama to another, larger venue so that more of Chicago gets an opportunity to share this vivid experience.  Now in the Cabaret of The Royal George Theatre located at  1641 N. Halsted, many more theater lovers will be able to experience this powerful and superbly acted production. While the Cabaret theater in the back of the Royal George is indeed an intimate venue, it is not nearly as intimate as Profiles Theatre.  The original production at Profiles was played with audience members on two sides and only five rows of seats on each.  The actors were very close and in the major fight in the second act, those in the first row were informed just how close the actors would come to their seats.  The Cabaret is a lot larger and although those on the right side, in the first row are close to the action, they are not even close to what those at Profiles experienced.  Otherwise, the new set by Sotirios Livaditis has all the appearance of a trailer home but with more space, thus more realistic and the sound and music by Kevin O'Donnell and lighting by Jess Harpenau work to perfection. Director Rick Snyder has transformed the blocking from the smaller stage with two sides visible to the larger, wider stage well with only one or two spots where vision might be blocked from the back of the house.  The seats are on a riser from the flat stage but not as high as one would like it to be and the lower parts of the fights are missed a little.  These by the way are the most realistic I have seen in a long while thanks to R & D Choreography, who are truly masters of what they do. These are the same intense actors who make this production a sure nominee for some Jeff Awards this year:  The sexy, slutty Sharla is played to the T by Somer Benson, her husband Ansel, by Howie Johnson, who handles the sniveling weak husband to perfection.  This is truly the family that would define "trailer park trash".  Ansel's loser son Chris is played by Kevin Bigley and his daughter Dottie by the mysterious Claire Wellin.  The title character, "Killer Joe" is powerfully played by Darrell W. Cox. The plot of this story is simple.  On a rainy night, Ansel and Sharla are awakened by Chris who is in need of some money.  He owes big time and fears for his life.  He has a plan.  How about hiring this "Killer Joe" to kill his mother, who it turns out has a $50,000 life insurance policy that names Dottie as the beneficiary.  They meet with Killer Joe, who wants $25,000 for his fee, which they will not have until the deed is done.  Meeting Dottie, he agrees that he will take her as a retainer and once he is paid out of the insurance proceeds, they can have the rest of the money as well as Dottie. What takes place from then on brings some strange twists and turns to the plot.  I would never reveal what these are so that you as an audience member get the full thrust of what Letts has created.  This intense drama has some funny moments that clearly takes us into the lives of some very dysfunctional people.  I need to tell you that Dottie as a child was almost killed and is a little slow, and yet even though it appears she is a 12 year old girl in the body of an 18 year old women, she is smarter than she looks.  Act One ends with a dinner scene where Joe seduces Dottie and I must say this scene is even sexier than it was earlier in the run.  Each character has some good in them, but all have evil as well, except for Dottie.  But all that transpires in this two hours has an effect on her as well. This is a quality production and one that should be seen.  The biggest problem with the move is the bar.  Yes, there is a bar and all beverages are allowed to come into the theater.  There are many intense moments in this production that can be ruined by someone slurping a drink through a straw or sloshing their ice cubes in their plastic cup.  It is a financial matter I am sure, but I hope those of you who do attend will try and hold it down so that your neighbors can hear every word and keep their focus in this story.  You might want to abstain yourself until after the curtain call.  By then you will need a drink! "Killer Joe" will continue through July 16, 2010 at The Royal George Cabaret.  Performances are Thursday and Friday 8 p.m., Saturdays  5  and 8 p.m. (I am not sure how these actors and stagehands handle two of these shows in a day - wow!), Sundays at 7 p.m.  I suggest that children under 18 not be taken to this production as there is some nudity and lots of sexual situations.  Tickets are $35 on Thursday and $40 for the other performances.  Students with ID's and Seniors get a $5 discount.  To order tickets call the box office at 312-988-9000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.  For more information on this show, please visit the Theatre In Chicago Killer Joe page.   Original January 2010 Review Profiles Theatre, known for bring new works to its intimate storefront theater located in the Uptown area, stories that deal with the human frailties, is presenting "Killer Joe," an older play written by Chicago's own Tracy Letts.  This was Letts' first play in 1991 and even then showed the brilliance of his character building techniques.  The story takes place in a trailer park in the Dallas area and tells us the story of a very dysfunctional family.  Living in the trailer is Ansel (Howie Johnson who underplays this character to perfection), his new bride, Sharla (Somer Benson in a sparkling performance) and Ansel's daughter Dottie (a charmingly smart character study played by Claire Wellin, a newcomer to our city and a name you will see often, I am sure).  There is also a son, Chris (Kevin Bigley) who lives with Ansel's ex-wife and her boy friend.  Chris is in trouble with the threat of his life being taken.  He comes to his family to borrow money to stave off the criminals who are after him and finds they have nothing to give.  He then unleashes a plot that would make all their dreams come true.  It turns out that his mother has an insurance policy and should she die, they would all live more comfortably, and after all, no one really cares about her anyway. Chris has found the man to do the job, one "Killer Joe" as he is called.  Joe Cooper is a Dallas police detective who arranges such incidents to occur (for a fee) and they meet with him to put their lives at ease.  Killer Joe is a dynamic and powerful performance by Darrell W. Cox, a regular on the stage at Profiles who should find himself nominated for an award for this one.  He has just the right touch to be both a cop and hired killer and yet his character can be funny, sweet and tormenting with very little change in his tone of voice or demeanor.  I was pleasantly surprised at his handling of this deep character. Everyone in this family has a problem or more.  Ansel is weak and allows his current wife to rule his life.  Sharla is not a true homebody and has no feelings for Chris at all.  Chris is a dreamer and a loser but he does love his little sister Dottie, who he has protected over the years and is just a little slow.  It does come out during the story telling as to why she is the way she is, but I would never reveal what transpires in this powerful drama that will have you riveted to your seat in the second act. Directed by Steppenwolf's Rick Snyder in the very intimate Profiles, the audience cannot help but truly feel that they are a fly on the wall with this one.  For those of you who have never attended a performance in this venue, let me tell you that the people in the first row (and there are only five rows on each side) will feel as if they are in the trailer home.  Snyder's every movement has purpose and the set by Sotirios Livaditis adds about as real a feeling as Snyder delivers in the action. Kevin O'Donnell does some great work with sound design and original music and the lighting by Jess Harpenau adds the right moods throughout the entire 2 hours.  I will tell you that there is nudity (both male and female) in this production as well as some sexual material that all fits the characters and the story, so be aware so you will not be shocked.  There is also a monster of a fight scene in Act Two created by R & D Choreography.  Bravo to them and to the actors who make each movement seem very real. This is an impressive piece of work and one worth seeing.  It will shock you, it will make you laugh and it will make you think.  For most theater audiences, the story that Letts puts before us is one that is startling and brings us to a place we would never visit.  But visit you should, as you will have a marvelous theatrical experience presented by a wonderful cast of actors.  The theater is small and the time is limited, so do not wait.   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.