Steadstyle Chicago
	May 2008 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Looking for a Ticket Broker? Check out the hottest broadway tickets from Gotickets.com Lipstick Traces Critical Evaluation: * out of **** For most of us, life is very routine.  We wake up, do our job, have some family time, albeit not as much as in the past, and then go to sleep.  We sometimes get an opportunity to visit a museum or see a play or movie.  I truly believe that most of us appreciate art and the artists who create something unique and different, something that takes us away from our routines and mundane world.  They say that art is interpreted in many ways and that each individual is inspired by different things. Going to the theater is an opportunity to share an experience with the others in the audience.  Sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry. Often, we do not agree with what others feel we saw and so this shared experience can also become a debate or discussion and therefore a learning experience as well. Pavement Group  is a new theater group that is trying to provide performance opportunities for the next generation of theater artists, new writers, actors and workers and to bring new audiences to the theater.  They feel that their stage can be where the recipe for new theater can be molded into a desired entree and to that end are staging an unusual work, "Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century".  Directed by David Perez, "Lipstick Traces" follows Johnny Rotten (Joey Steakley), Sex Pistols manager Malcom McLaren (Zach Gonzalez-Landis), an assortment of heretics and Dr. Narrator (Heidi Koling), the only person who was miked and thus the only person who was clearly heard, as they bring us the history of 8 centuries in the maturation of our "punk" history in a little over an hour. This is an "art piece" that will certainly make you wonder and possibly understand some of what has taken place with our young people in the world today.  The setting for this production is a loft at Damen and Fulton in Chicago.  The loft is on the third floor in AV-Aerie Gallery (don't ask what this means) but there does not appear to be an elevator, so if you can't walk the steep stairs, you might want to miss this one.  In fact, if you are not into artsy-fartsy you probably should scratch this from your must see list. If you are into "Dada" and "Punk" and Johnny Rotten and The Sex Pistols and have 70 minutes and $15 to spare, this may be a fun experience that will open up some wonderful exchanges of conversation and interpretation.  "Lipstick Traces" will run through June 1, 2008 at AV-Aerie, 2000 W. Fulton Avenue.  Performances are Friday-Sunday nights at 7:30 p.m. There is one special industry performance on Monday May 26th. Ticket prices are a suggested donation of $15 dollars.  To order tickets call 773-278-9083 or visit boxoffice@pavementgroup.org.   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 EpochTimes.  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.