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As Sean Hargadon says, love never goes out of season, and what better time or season to point that out to Chicagoland audiences than Valentine’s Day. Hargadon is an actor, director and founder of Janus Theatre, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in August 2009. The company is currently completing the third play in a trilogy by French playwright Pierre Marivaux called Triumph of Love, which matches romance and intellect from an 18th Century point of view. As Hargadon points out, "Today the play can be looked at as something light and frivolous, but below the surface there is a torrent of emotion and ideas. That, for me, is the one singular reason to do the play: the way we feel. In today’s culture, we’re all very clever, cynical and beyond the emotion of Love. In Marivaux's time Love was a serious word. Today it has become something devoid of large feelings. Now, having said that, I can reveal that our show has many comic moments where Love or Cupid is in on the joke, but in the end, it is Love that moves these people and makes them change."
The Janus Theatre previously performed Marivaux’s The Game of Love and Chance in the summer of 2001 and Changes of Heart in the summer of 2003, winning critical acclaim and audience praise. Triumph is therefore not only a timely choice, but the closing of that cycle. Audiences will be presented with gender confusion, mistaken identity and farcical situations as love ultimately trumps reason. Once thought of as progressive and edgy, Marivaux is considered cute today. As Hargadon explains, "the theme of passion fighting reason was a huge issue in pre-Enlightenment France. His argument simply stated is that one cannot live without both ideas working against each other. In his time, everything was being questioned: the existence of God, the scientific method and social status. There was a group of individuals that put all their beliefs on the side of reason. Marivaux said this was not possible and actually quite dangerous."
Hargadon feels audiences will find a delightful evening of classical theatre that is rarely done in the City and never in the suburbs. "It's also unique because it’s a language play. Words are driving the meaning, feeling and overall ideas of the play. Today's theatre has moved far away from this idea. Sure, every play has words, but real intensely charged language that expands your heart and mind is a rare thing." Love may be the "universal language," but Hargadon also believes, "Love will break your heart. It will also free you from yourself."
Taking a more contemporary look at that crazy thing we call love is playwright, actor and director Tony Fiorentino's original romantic comedy, My Dinner With Amy, which premieres appropriately enough on Valentine’s Day February 14 at Theatre Building Chicago. Fiorentino's work shows a lonely bachelor who tries Internet dating, but finds himself being set up by a born-again Christian for conversion. Fiorentino uses the idea of the Internet as a springboard for questions on whether people of differing religious beliefs and backgrounds can still form romantic connections. "Some people feel (online dating) takes some of the romantic spontaneity away. Maybe we live in a busier world, where people have less time or opportunity and want the security of having it more under control. I guess it’s not as romantic if you think about it, but if the end result is that people are able to make it happen, then I don’t have a problem with it."
You can say "Amy" is a labor of love in more than one way. Fiorentino founded his company, Diamante Productions in 2005 because frankly, “I started writing plays and couldn't get anyone to produce them. So I decided to form a company to launch my own work.” And less you laugh off this aspiring playwright’s entrepreneurial ambitions, remember that many of Chicago’s respected theatre companies began in similar grass-roots style. Fiorentino has bankrolled his small troupe with his own money by working a day job as a copy writer. My Dinner With Amy is his fourth production, following Lease on Love, Cold, Cold, Feet and Fraternal Instinct. Originally trained as an actor, this University of Illinois theatre major had to learn some of the less glamorous mechanics of the theatre the hard way. "The first thing was getting a space, and once I put down the security deposit (for the Theatre Building), you really light the fire under your bottom to get everything done."
Fiorentino's goals for his work are quite simple. "First and foremost, I would like the audience to laugh a lot, and also to pose a few questions. I definitely don’t feel I have any answers, but maybe people will question whether they could have a romantic connection with someone of a differing religion or background, or look at their own religious backgrounds with a sense of humor." Tony feels that since religion is taken so seriously, being able to laugh about it is important. Serious issues like religion and politics "are the things we have to laugh at the most."
Finding laughter in ordinary, often painful experiences is something Fiorentino has in common with Neil Simon. "The higher the stakes in any individual’s life, the greater the springboard is for laughter because it’s more heightened and important." Tony is a great admirer of Woody Allen for "his dialogue and the depth of his characters," and finds the romantic comedies of screenwriter Nora Ephron “skillfully done.” He also points to the great classic works of Billy Wilder, such as The Apartment and Some Like it Hot. "You don't get to see that caliber of comedy anymore and it’s good to go back and see why they work." It has been said that life is easy, but comedy is very hard and Fiorentino certainly agrees. "Comedy is the ultimate challenge; you know right away when a joke is not working because you don’t get the validation of the audience's response. But I like that challenge."
My Dinner With Amy runs February 14 through March 23 at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont Ave in Chicago. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $25. For tickets, call the Theatre Building box office at 773-327-5252, or visit ticketmaster.
Janus Theatre presents The Triumph of Love February 8-24 at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street, 8th Floor in Elgin. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm: Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $15 regular, $12 student/senior, $10 groups of eight or more. For tickets, call the Box Office at 847-931-0637. For more information, visit www.janustheatre.org
Joe Stead
Theatre In Chicago News Contributor Joe Stead has spent over 20 years as a critic, director, designer and performer. His reviews currently appear online at www.steadstylechicago.com.