Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Over the Tavern We are constantly reminded of the relationships between the Catholic Church and its members.  Religion is a strong part of our lives, for many a constant reminder of their growing up, and for others memories that have made them who they are today.  Tom Dudzick's delightful comedy with a message, "Over The Tavern" is now being presented on the stage at Noble Fools Theatricals located at Pheasant Run Resort in St.Charles.  While this theater is not exactly in the neighborhood it has been giving the western suburbs some high quality theater at very affordable prices.  "Over The Tavern" is the story of a Polish Catholic family, circa 1959 in Buffalo New York.  The story could easily have taken place in Chicago with our very large Polish population or other major urban areas where bars and shops had apartments upstairs, in many cases the home of the owner of the shop.  Chet owns a tavern, thus the title of the play.  He has a loving wife and three sons and a daughter, all teens.  The children attend Catholic school, in fact the same school that Chet had attended, run by Sister Clarissa, a hard driving Nun who wants her students to learn and not question. This is where the story begins.  12 year old Rudy is questioning all that is taking place in his life, his family, religion itself and the fact that his teacher can smack him for no real reason and not be punished for it.  Rudy is given a brilliant performance by young Gabriel Harder, who has just the right touch to make one crazy but meanwhile still want to hug and love him.  The only thing that troubled me about his performance is the tendency to rush the words Dudzick has written.  They are important to the story and hinder what is otherwise a flawless character.  His older brothers, Eddie (Alex Adams) is going through his own period of confusion and the third brother, Georgie (deftly handled by Daniel Velisek) is mentally retarded.  This is a difficult type of role in that he has very little to say and must be more expressive in face and body movement.  He does this perfectly.  Their sister Annie (a delightful performance by Katrina Syrris) is becoming a woman and has questions relative to boy/girl relationships, love and the family.  All of these young teens live under the fear of going to Hell, but of greater importance, the fear of the wrath of their dad.  Scott Cummins takes on the role of Chet with a little different slant than in previous productions.  He appears a little less mad and more pleasant and I found his transformation at the end of the show just a little too cute.  Stacy Stoltz plays mom Ellen with perfect temperament at the start of the play and as the situations take place, we watch her grow from the 1950's typical homemaker to a woman who shows her true feelings and spirit. This is a good looking family with some very talented actors who truly make the play worth seeing, but the real reason to make the trip to St. Charles, Illinois is Chicago veteran actress Renee Mathews as Sister Clarissa.  She handles each of the episodes with Rudy and the other members of the family in just the right way.  She is a true comic and has perfect timing.  Yes, she is the mean nun but she is lovable as a character because she thinks what she is doing is what is expected of her by the church.  And near the end of the play, as each of the family members come to some resolution to their problems, we come to learn of a problem that Chet had as a youth that has been bottled up inside him for all these years. Director John Gawlik makes this two hour play move quickly with very little down time.  We know that part of what Dudzik is dealing with is the pain that many kids grew up with in the Catholic schools.  Many were hit and many parents, to please the church also punished their kids with straps and sticks and rulers.  One of Rudy's lines is that he wishes that Robert Young (TV's "Father Knows Best" of the time) would replace his dad, just for one night. While the topic is one that many of us are a little familiar with (it also reached homes of Non-Catholics) except for the Nun, this production handles it with lots of love and tenderness and makes this touching show a delight to watch with a very happy ending.  We can all see something of our own family life in this production.  I strongly suggest children under 12 not be brought to this one.  The set by Ian Zywica, a wonderful apartment above the tavern is well designed and fills the stage.  All of the church and other scenes are done downstage and thanks to quality lighting by Yousef Mohamed, one hardly notices the set behind the scene.  Joseph Fosco handles the sound design and the board is handled by Kathy Chavez, who never missed a beat. "Over The Tavern" has been extended through April 3, 2010 at Pheasant Run Resort.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., and Thursdays at 2 p.m. on March 4 and 11.  Tickets range from  $29 (you read that right, $29) to $39.  Dinner packages from $46-$59 are great values for today's economy.  There are also overnight packages for the resort, which features a neat indoor pool and plenty of activities, just a little over an hour from downtown.  To order tickets call 630-584-6342 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.  To learn more about the theater, visit www.noblefool.org.  Pheasant Run is located on North Avenue, Route 64 in beautiful St. Charles, just west of Route 59.  Free parking is available.   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.