
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