I’ve seen only four Mammals shows to date, but I’ve loved every one. In ALL GIRL FRANKENSTEIN, the small Chicago company once again creates grounded yet eccentric characters of powerfully compelling quality.
As the name implies, THE ALL GIRL PROJECT aims to give female actors an opportunity to play great literary and dramatic characters traditionally reserved for men. Gender and sex commentary are not the center-point, nor (as near as I can tell) is any special focus drawn to the gynocentric casting. This alone would make the show worth supporting, and it bears noting that the actors playing these roles are very much in their characters: there are no male caricatures or basso bravados, only serious physical acting. However, these accomplishments pale in comparison to the quality of the show itself.
Ultimately, great acting is all a show needs to succeed, and FRANKENSTEIN delivers. Erin Myers is a focal point of power as Victor Frankenstein and grounds us in emotional truth early (and vitally) in the performance. Sarah Koerner serves as the primary female presence in the play (Victor’s adoptive cousin-of-sorts and love interest), and she gives us a simultaneously fluid and shocking arc between the only two roles allowed to women in the Victorian era: from an innocent yet ambitious ingenue into a formidable reflection of Frankenstein’s own mother (Julie Cowden, the mother in question, is an equally powerful and equally important presence at the play’s beginning). And in a cast full of beautiful, mature voices and strong physicality, it’s Amy E. Harmon and Erin Elizabeth Orr who take the prizes as the Creature and Henry Clerval (the Frankenstein family’s ward). Orr’s Clerval is centered in his discomfort (he’s very clearly in an alien world that does not want him), capable of contracting upon himself or exploding away from a threat at a moment’s notice. Harmon’s Creature, perhaps because speech is a novel challenge for him, takes his time and speaks with purpose: Harmon imbues every word with significance.
The Mammals’ production values, meanwhile, are as non-pareiled as ever. The set (designed by John Wilson, and masterfully executed) makes great use of levels and immediately evokes the “Victorian narrative” mood rightly associated with Frankenstein and its ilk, while still giving special emphasis to the ‘decay’ aspects of death that this production focuses on. The lighting (Leigh Barrett) is as beautiful and effective as in every Mammals’ show I’ve seen: Barrett’s use of color, strobe, and especially isolations add rich contrasts, turning one location into many and highlighting (at the right times) the aching emptiness faced by the performers. Brittany Dee Bodley’s costumes were beautiful (particularly Myers’, Keorner’s, and Orr’s), evocative of Victorianism, and again made no sensationalist commentary on women playing traditionally male roles. Indeed, as one might expect in the Victorian era, the costumes were largely sexless: it was only during a disturbing reanimating-dead-bodies scene when the Ensemble’s bodies were closest to being displayed in any overt manner (which highlighted a running theme of repressed sexuality).
There is not enough time to extol this play’s virtues in a brief review: excellently performed with strong motivation and especially strong technique, highlighted by professionally executed design. ALL GIRL FRANKENSTEIN is a superior play: just what I’d expect from The Chicago Mammals.