32 CHICAGO READER | MARCH 17, 2006 | SECTION ONE

Theater

By Albert Williams

Two actors, some lines . . . and anaudience. That’s what I say. Fuck’em all. —A Life in the Theatre

E specially in directorRobert Falls’s funny andmoving revival, David

Mamet’s gentle, compact A Lifein the Theatre is just right forlaunching the Goodman’sMamet festival, a series intend-ed to both reevaluate the play-wright who helped shape off-Loop theater in the 70s andintroduce his work to audienceswho may know it mainlythrough his new TV drama TheUnit. The play’s clippedrhythms, cryptic pauses, casualprofanity, obsession withsemantic precision—these arethe hallmarks of a writer forwhom drama lies in characterand language rather thanaction. Thematically, too, thispoignant 1977 comedy is quin-

tessentialMamet.Like SexualPerversityin Chicago,AmericanBuffalo,GlengarryGlen Ross,andOleanna, itcharts the

evolving relationship betweenan eager, hungry youngster anda needy, world-weary elder.

John, a young actor, shares adressing room with seasonedveteran Robert. In a brisk suiteof vignettes, Mamet chronicles

the duo’s interactions onstageand off. They seem to be per-forming the repertory seasonfrom hell: Mamet’s parodies ofShakespeare, Chekhov, andRattigan; World War I dramas;French Revolution dramas; hos-pital dramas; lifeboat dramas.Backstage, they run linestogether, do vocal warm-ups,read the trades, and talk aboutaudiences (“intelligent” and“discerning” on a good night,“bloody boors” on a bad one),agents (“bloodsuckers”), critics(“fucking leeches”), each other’sperformances (“Brittle? Overlybrittle?”), and the difficulty ofworking with a bad leading lady(“I want to kill the cunt,” saysthe usually gentlemanlyRobert). And they talk aboutthe meaning of art. “We areexplorers of the soul,” Robertsays. “We must not be clownswhose sole desire is to please.”

Robert is an old-school techni-cian, for whom good actingderives from detailed textualanalysis. John’s approach is moreinstinctive, but he comes toappreciate Robert’s emphasis oncraft—even as Robert’s crafts-manship deteriorates under theinfluence of drink. Robert, mean-while, sees in John the callowmistakes and boundless, unful-filled hopes of his own youth.Garrulous, philosophicallyinclined, and facing his mortality,he eventually views John not onlyas a colleague but as his legacy.

Mamet has said, “It is thewriter’s job to make the playinteresting. It is the actor’s job to

make the performance truthful.”David Darlow is brilliantlynuanced as Robert—profoundand petty, almost monklike in hisdedication yet riven by vanity,insecurity, and despair. MattSchwader peels away layers toreveal John’s fascination and irri-tation with Robert and burningdrive to take center stage. Falls’sdirection is marked by hilarious

sight gags, but also by finely tunedpacing. Mark Wendland’s tower-ing set and Michael Philippi’singenious lighting suggest an old-fashioned theater’s variousspaces, from stage to stage door,dressing room to green room.And Birgit Rattenborg Wisedelivers a delightful array of peri-od costumes for the characters’onstage scenes.

In 1977, one could see in Johnand Robert’s exchanges theyoung Mamet facing his olderself. Now, one hears Mamet(who turns 60 next year)addressing what Robert calls“tomorrow’s leaders,” advisingthem not to take on a life in thetheater unless they have vision,drive, and a capacity for self-sacrifice. v

Mamet in a NutshellThe Goodman opens its tribute with a one-act that covers all the bases.

A LIFE IN THE THEATRE GOODMAN THEATRE

A Life in the Theatre

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WHEN Through 4/9:Wed 7:30 PM, Thu 2and 7:30 PM, Fri 8PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM,Sun 2 and 7:30 PMWHERE GoodmanTheatre, 170 N.DearbornPRICE $20-$65INFO 312-443-3800

People Suck Times SixA series of vignettes is not the right form for Neil LaBute’s relentless misanthropy.

AUTOBAHN PROFILES THEATRE

CHICAGO READER | MARCH 17, 2006 | SECTION ONE 33

Theater

By Brian Nemtusak

F ilmmaker-playwright NeilLaBute has developed areputation for the unpleas-

ant. From his big-screen splashIn the Company of Men to hismost recent film, The Shape ofThings, he’s pounded his misan-thropic theme home: humanrelationships are governed bypower dynamics. And the moreattractive or otherwise alpha theagent, the more likely he or she isto abuse that power—and getaway with it. As in the work offilmmakers Michael Haneke(Cache) and Gaspar Noe(Irreversible), LaBute’s strengthis the formal rigor of his fixationon what’s worst in mankind.

Profiles Theatre’s superlative

2004 production of AdamRapp’s Blackbird showed it alsohas an affinity for the dark sideof life, which would seem tomake a good fit with LaBute’suncompromising, unsentimentalvision. But despite this midwestpremiere’s altogether excellentexecution, LaBute’s new playAutobahn gets the better of thecompany—its structure throwshis flaws into stark relief.

LaBute gets a lot of credit forrealism, and deservedly so. Buthis dialogue is far from natura-listic, and his scenarios are sel-dom plausible. His insightresides in the larger game-theo-ry truths he plays out ratherthan in details. That makes

Autobahn—essentially six unre-lated vignettes set in a car—a

dicey proposition. A one-actsimply doesn’t allow enough

time to set up, let alone trigger,continued on page 34

Autobahn

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34 CHICAGO READER | MARCH 17, 2006 | SECTION ONE

Theater

LaBute’s usual rhetorical beartraps. Not that he doesn’t try tosnap a few shut. Applying hisslow-reveal method, he dragsout the exposition a few times: aman angrily attempts to apolo-gize for something. A coupleslowly comes to terms with

something. A man and a girl go on a road trip somewhere.But in every case, all thatemerges is a previous event anda clearly cancerous relationship,which then idles until theinevitable blackout.

LaBute plays as much of thisfor laughs as possible, as does the

Profiles company under DarrellW. Cox’s game, sure-handeddirection. Without the possibilityof a jaw-dropping resolution,there isn’t much anyone can dobut riff on LaBute’s incidentalbits of jaundiced humor. Severalactors—in particular EricBurgher, Julie Zarlenga, Tyler

Gray, and Joe Jahraus—make asmuch hay with that as they can.But tellingly, the most effectivescenes are those with the black-est undertones: one that suggestschild abuse, another that hints atworse. As his big-screen stabs athumor like Your Friends &Neighbors proved, LaBute just

isn’t that funny a guy.There are other difficulties.

Half these dialogues are reallymonologues addressed to anactor who only listens. And acouple scenes are patently unbe-lievable. But the chronic prob-lem with Autobahn is how over-written it is. It even threatens to

continued from page 33

Ink Well by Ben Tausig

Between JobsACROSS 1. ENT, e.g.4. “______ only had a . . .”7. Daughter of Dan and Roseanne

14. Alternative to “The dog ate myhomework”

16. Leading17. Ushers, by trade18. Linens and things19. Career decision for a

referee/lawyer?21. Where the Red Sox play: Abbr.22. “Evil Woman” grp.23. Until now25. Foxx who played a junk dealer26. Name on a speaker28. Horny heavyweight30. Dick’s sister31. Miniscule32. Career decision for a computer

programmer/juggler?37. Insect-repelling chemical38. Lab tube

39. Hit’s opposite?40. Cologne, in Deutschland41. ______ d’oeuvres45. Where to go through a withdrawal46. Moistureless, in product names47. River of song49. Career choice for a

journalist/MasterCard rep?53. Smothers, in a way54. Chowder cracker55. What I-94 may be reduced to56. Like some pierogies57. More piquant58. French possessive59. Netherlands city

DOWN 1. Remove from practice2. Pamplona shout3. Sweet-talked4. Sinuses, e.g.5. It may be reached on a date6. “Make ______!” (Star Trek command)7. Be dilettantish8. “Don’t try to be ______”9. Prepared in advance, in product

names10. Fill with cargo11. Filled with facts12. Hogwash13. Run after D15. Lieu20. Stockpile24. They may be held in chests27. Honeymoon costar (1969)28. Concrete29. Ms. lobster30. Ballet jump31. Use BabelFish

LAST WEEK: PIECES OF THE PIE

43. Curbed, with “in”44. Start another country46. Boring speaking voice48. Home to Tom Jones and the

Super Furry Animals50. Hide51. Morales of NYPD Blue52. “Hey. . . over here!”53. Sleep, in product names

32. “Mamma Mia” quartet33. Table34. Men and monkeys35. Young fellow36. Supply in Iraq40. Danish money41. Start of a Schwarzenegger

catchphrase42. Welcome status at O’Hare

CHICAGO READER | MARCH 17, 2006 | SECTION ONE 35

expose how overwritten theentire oeuvre may be. Becausewhile LaBute has a point—peo-ple are on balance nasty—he canbe a bit of a broken record. (As a colleague observed, “I havethat point too . . . and?”) Asidefrom the spectacle of beyond-the-pale emotional brutality that caps his most striking work,

he doesn’thave much to offer but stylized if accuratelyobserved takeson codepen-dency. Often,once the basicpower dynam-

ic becomes apparent, you couldcall “scene”—something I wanted to do halfway througheach of Autobahn’s six unpleas-ant interludes.

That said, there isn’t a bad per-former in the cast. In the play’sdarkest, most genuine moments,Jack McCabe and VeronicaSheaffer are downright riveting.John Zuiker’s set design is effi-cient and evocative, and theshow never fails to convey asense of momentum. It just hasnowhere to go. v

WHEN Through4/23: Fri-Sat 8 PM,Sun 7 PMWHERE ProfilesTheatre, 4147 N.BroadwayPRICE $13-$22INFO 773-549-1815