Dr. 2's surgery with patient The Aliens at the Collaboraction's Pentagon Theater
Patient: The Aliens
Legal Guardians: Playwright Annie Baker, Producer Alexandra Shields, Director Gus Schlanbusch
Surname: Aegis Theatre Company
Address: 1579 N Milwaukee Ave Chicago, IL
Insurance: Bookmarx
Symptoms: second hand smoke, psychedelics, guitars
Diagnosis: geniuses
βYou guys arenβt supposed to be back here.β
Operation Overview:
This diagnosis agonized me. I did and didnβt enjoy Ms. Bakerβs script. The entire story felt like a subplot. That was the plot. The marginalized lost boys smoked cigarettes, weedijuana, psychedelics, and plucked the guitar at the back of a restaurant. Itβs plain; I get it; I didnβt like it. I had friends like these so Iβm not alien (hah) to the genre. It reminded me of the cinema Stand By Me with its small town American boys just trying to grow up.
The indulgent pauses in the intro demanded rather than invited a tone of authenticity. This quickly put me on guard. Peter Giessl started the show with Americaβs favorite bad boy pastime: cigarette brooding. Oh, hell yeaβmoreβ¦ pausing! Griffin Johnston was a perfect Evan. I like the way he, like, the callsβ¦ he, um. I liked the calls he made with hisβ¦ um. It was likeβthe way heβ¦ Anywayβ¦ at least thereβs Evan. Miles Potter kept kindling the audience with KJβs humor, but Ms. Bakerβs script continued to bog down action with a swamp of thought speculation from the characters. I imagine sheβd argue that the pauses are for the realism but itβs already there, Miss. It was present the first three times.
I yearned for a more dramatic back ally plot in Nowhere town. The writing was too offhand. Again, this was the content of the genre! Is it I who is simply not immersing themselves in the narrative? No, I held on to my impression: I wasnβt. I didnβt make the essential bond with the characters. One more act could have done it. When the climaxβs sickle came swinging for the harvest I wasnβt moved.
The story brought drama to the table, but if a few undulations of emotion defined a healthy patient, then I wouldnβt be in the business of curing the weak in spirit because none could be defined as such. Iβll assign four stars for the Aegis Theater company actors and three for Baker. It wasβ¦ alright.
Update 10-26-2018
The patient grew on me over time. My cerebral impression was cautiousness from the scary long pauses. βUh oh, the characters are trying to be profound.β My better feelings invited me back to Ms. Bakerβs play without my permission. Miles Potter was a picturesque KJ; it was his moments that acted as checkpoints in the drama that are still concreted within me. I want to extend my four star health rating to Ms. Bakerβs script as well, not just the Aegis Theatre Company. I remain consistent with my criticism that some crucial emotional hooks missed with me, namely with Jasper the character apart from the actor. If just one more dramatic element were present, I would feel inclined to give the play a five star health rating. It wasβ¦ pretty good.
