The Good Soul of Szechuan
BY BERTOLT BRECHT
TRANSLATED BY DAVID HARROWER
DIRECTED BY SHADE MURRAY
Apr 24, 2010–May 29, 2010
3829 N. Broadway
Money may not buy happiness but it sure buys friends. A trio of Gods roll through the mean old town of Szechuan searching for just one good person. They find it in Shen Te, a destitute prostitute with the obligatory heart of gold. Shen Te’s kindness so moves the three celestials that they reward her with enough cash to make a new life. But when her financial windfall stirs up a storm of moochers, leeches and fair-weather lovers, Shen Te calls on her hard-hearted (and oddly familiar) cousin Shui Ta to keep the wolves at bay. But if it needs the kind of protection Shui Ta practices, is goodness really any good at all?
“… Szechuan may be one of the classic works of 20th-century drama, but there’s nothing stuffily “classic” about Strawdog Theatre’s electrifying new staging. Ebullient, spontaneous, sometimes raucous, and thoroughly contemporary, this production has a loose, improvisational feel that belies its fidelity to the text.”
— Chicago Reader
“… The actors double as musicians for Mikhail Fiksel and Mike Przygoda’s Weill-punk-rock numbers and change clothes in full view; costume designers Aly Renee Greaves and Joanna Melville wittily outfit the cast in modern thrift-store chic. But style doesn’t outweigh substance: Brecht’s poke at the irrationality of charity in an economic system that rewards selfishness remains potent. Leading an engaging, creatively cast 18-member ensemble, Petro shines.”
— Time Out Chicago
Cast
Lindsey Dorcus
as Boy
Amy Dunlap
as Second God
Paul Fagen*
as Shu Fu
Carmine Grisolia*
as Wang
Shannon Hoag*
as Mrs. Shin
Michaela Petro*
as Shen Te/Shui Ta
John Henry Roberts*
as Yang Sun
Creative Team
Bertolt Brecht
Author
David Harrower
Translator
Shade Murray
Director
Mike Mroch
Ass't Set Design
Mike Przygoda
Composer
Mike Przygoda
Music Director
* Strawdog Theatre ensemble member