Red Noses
REMOUNTED
BY PETER BARNES
DIRECTED BY MATT HAWKINS
Jul 14, 2010–Aug 5, 2010
3829 N. Broadway
Think the world’s got problems now? In the mid-1300’s, the Black Plague wiped out half the population of Europe. HALF. More conservative estimates say one quarter. But we find HALF gets the point across better. People were dropping like flies, and the living had trouble deciding what to do with themselves. Uncontrollable weeping? Self-flagellation?
For one priest, the answer is clear: make ‘em laugh. Turning a band of desperate misfits into a troupe of deeply untalented circus performers, he sets out to prove that the best defense against a cruel world is a bad joke beautifully told.
“Director Matt Hawkins is working at the top of his game with a show that easily melds top 40 tunes, real emotion and laughter at the lip’s edge of a grave.”
— Chicago Tribune
“★★★★★ … Barnes’s work feels utterly, surprisingly relevant in this inventive and kinetic staging … Red Noses is a major achievement …”
— Time Out Chicago
“RECOMMENDED … an exhilarating, hilariously unsettling meditation on the orgiastic response to mass human die-off.”
— Chicago Reader
“What a treat to watch this tight 23-person cast at complete ease with their challenging material, riffing off each other even as the tone constantly shifts from silly to dark to inspirational … It’s rare indeed to find a show packed with gallows humor that doesn’t trivialize death, yet leaves everyone smiling.”
— Chicago Free Press
Cast
Will Allan
as Frapper
Mikala Bierma
as Flagellant
Nicole Bloomsmith*
as Player
Michael Dailey*
as Grez
Paul Fagen*
as Toulon
John Ferrick*
as Flote
Jessie Fisher
as Flagellant
Kyle Gibson*
as Player
Sarah Goeden*
as Bells
Kyle Hamman*
as Brodin
Shannon Hoag*
as Margarite
Anderson Lawfer*
as Le Grue
Chelsea Paice
as Clown
Michael Peters
as Rochfort
Michaela Petro*
as Raven
Eric Pogrelis
as Boutros Brother
Michael E. Smith
as Pope
Niccole Thurman
as Player
Jeff Trainor
as Player
Andrew Trygstad
as Bembo
Rebekah Ward-Hays
as Raven
Creative Team
Peter Barnes
Author
Matt Hawkins
Director
Nic Dimond
Set Design
Mike Mroch
Ass't Set Design
Heather Gilbert
Light Design
Aly Renee Amidei*
Costume Design
Mike Przygoda
Music Director
Mikhail Fiksel
Sound Design
Clare Roche
Stage Manager
Cortney Hurley
Production Manager
* Strawdog Theatre ensemble member