Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	The Ring Cycle Often in my reviews I use the term "theatrical experience".  I define this as something special in the world of live theater, an experience that the audience members will remember and think about for years to come.  Today, thanks to the clever and brave The Building Stage Company, I truly had a theatrical experience that I know I will remember for years to come.  Their current production "The Ring Cycle" is a theatrical interpretation of Richard Wagner's opera cycle "The Ring of The Neibelung," but as a play, not an opera.  They do utilize original rock 'n' roll music by Kevin O'Donnell, loosely based on Wagner's themes so it stays true to the story and theme.  But unlike the original 16 hours (that's right, the opera is 16 hours in duration), this piece is done in four 70 minute sections/stories that interlink to make a complete story that is done in six hours total, including two 10 minute breaks and a 45 minute dinner break.  This is a major part of what makes this an "experience" as it is not what one expects when they say they are off to the theater. "Cycle", conceived and directed by Blake Montgomery and Joanie Schultz started it all, but the ensemble members themselves helped to develop the characters in this new version which is part of the mission of this troupe of creative people.  They believe that theater is made, not written and are very physical in nature, but not slapstick physical, quality physical with masks, mimes, clown and movement.  The theater itself is one large room that could easily resemble a loading dock with seats on risers and a stage that has levels, ramps, stairs and a balcony all with doors that open and close to allow for special effects.  In this show, they feature hanging silks, such as you would see in a Cirque show or at many Lookingglass Theatre shows and they do it well.  The three multi-talented ladies who perform on the silks, Sarah Scanlon, Lindsey Dorcus and Lucy Carapetyan truly show their athletic ability as well as their acting and puppeteer skills.  Yes, they have clever puppets used to represent birds, dragons, giants, horses and more.  The use of lighting allows for shadow effects on the wall, cleverly created by Justin Wardell, and the puppets and effects created by Chantel Calato are marvelous. It is a difficult task to attempt to explain a six hour theater program in a review.  But just to give you an idea about what the story is about, it is about Mythology and psychology and deals with incest, fratricide, drowning, murder, revenge, immolation, Gods, dragons, a magic sword, a magic ring of gold and many more little stories done in four stories, each having a start and end and all continuations of the original.  This production makes it easy to follow as it simplifies Wagner's opera. The cast is superb, with many taking on many roles.  Hats off to Daiva Bhandari, Wm. Bullion, Lucy Carapetyan, Lindsey Dorcus, Pat King, Darci Nalepa, Bill O'Conner, Chris Pomeroy, Sarah Scanlon, Nick Vidal and Mandy Walsh.  These eleven performers must be exhausted doing this show but one can tell from their performances that they love every minute of it.  I was very impressed by the work of Nick Vogel as Siegfried, the title of the third section, and from the very start Wotan, played to perfection by Chris Pomeroy.  This cast and crew took on an enormous challenge in offering a 6 hour day at the theater and pulled it off making the entire audience want even more!  That tells its own story.  The musicians, who were onstage for the duration of the play were Evan Bivins, Andy Wagner, Rachel Ries, Chad Kenward and of course Mr. O'Donnell. The full house had a wonderful time speaking with each other at breaks and enjoying each other's company during the dinner break where we were invited to set up picnic blankets on the stage and even the actors and musicians joined us.  Many brought picnic baskets and others purchased available box dinners that we delicious.  From this I found a neat little Italian Deli called Bari on Grand Avenue.  I will go there now and check them out as I had a wonderful turkey sub.  They also had some snacks available at breaks, so if you felt the need for a beverage or chocolate, you didn't have to leave the building. "The Ring Cycle" will continue through March 14, 2010 at The Building Stage located at 412 N. Carpenter, not far from Grand Avenue and Halsted.  It is fairly reachable by bus with just a short walk.  There is plenty of free parking.  The performance starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday (you should be out by 9:15) and 2 p.m. on Sunday (around 8:15 ending).  Tickets are only $40, $32 for seniors and students, which has to be the biggest theater bargain ever!  To order yours, so you can say that you were one of the people who bore witness to this truly outstanding production, call 312-491-1369 or visit www.buildingstage.com.  Hurry, you only have limited chances.  If you want, when you call or go online, order your dinner.  Or bring a picnic.  I'll let you decide.    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.