Goodbye Cruel World
Strange Tree Group at
Theater Wit
Chicago Tribune- Recommended
"...But by and large, the cast of six (who all, with the exception of Cupper, play multiple roles) deliver dizzyingly good performances. Cupper brings a sad-eyed, Buster Keaton-like demeanor to Semyon, and Bagby runs away with the proceedings with her chameleon-like shifts from the hunchbacked mother-in-law to a vampish actress to an owlish writer. (Everyone takes a turn with the Orthodox priest's beard and garments.) Charming musical accompaniment, courtesy of Marty and Sarah Scanlon, adds touches of Krazy Klezmer to the proceedings."
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Kerry Reid
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
"...As directed for Strange Tree Group by Bob Kruse, this English-language update on Nikolai Erdman's 1928 The Suicide has an absurd satirical spirit reminiscent of Gogol's The Inspector General (not to mention Capra's Meet John Doe), and Scott Cupper is amusingly stupid-cunning as Semyon. But every so often—as when a die-hard communist says there'll be no people after the revolution, just masses—it's possible to glimpse why The Suicide couldn't be staged in Russia until 1990 . . . and how it might apply to desperate American workers today."
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Tony Adler
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...Staging an effective farce is already such an arduous task, and integrating Strange Tree’s maniacal aesthetic on top of all that is positively Herculean. But Bob Kruse’s meticulous, moment-to-moment direction makes all of the onstage lunacy appear effortless, which is the highest praise I can offer a staging of this genre. The belly laughs come quickly and easily, and although the play, in typical Russian literary fashion, takes a sharp turn toward the nihilist late in the one-act, it remains resoundingly hysterical to the bitter end."
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Johnny Oleksinski
Windy City Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...The reasons behind this stylistic reversal remain a mystery, but wherever the responsibility lies, opening-night playgoers owe a debt of gratitude to performers capable of finding exactly the right pace and volume to rescue what could have emerged an enervating classroom exercise. Their precise timing and unflagging agility lend freshness to even such threadbare gags as—yawn!—actors in multiple roles swapping wigs and costumes in full view of the audience."
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Mary Shen Barnidge
Centerstage- Recommended
"... Robert Ross Parker is to be commended for his adaptation, which maintains a steady level of amusement and snappy banter throughout. I cannot help but feel that the production misses a number of opportunities to really escalate into gut-busting hilarity and/or rather pointed criticism of the current political climate here in Our Beloved Motherland, the dear ol’ Fifty States. In bolder hands, this play would be a dangerous comedic tool. Still, the director keeps the play bouncing along at a decent clip and the onstage musicians sound good. It’s a light summer comedy, perfectly suited for an easy night out. A brief postscript: Strange Tree must be commended for their excellent show titles, all listed in the program (I’d see something called “Mr. Spacky...The Man Who Was Continuously Followed By Wolves” on the strength of the title alone), and their extremely fine poster designs; it’s great work."
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John Dalton
Chicago Stage Review- Recommended
"...The Strange Tree Group takes the complexities of early 20th Century Russia and translates them into contemporary anxiety with a stylized vision and fearless execution. It is hard to imagine a piece from this time and place to be frolicking, but Strange Tree manages a wonderfully entertaining romp in the midst of the pending funeral dirge. The cast is delightful (working overtime playing multiple roles), the musical accompaniment is exceptional and the visual design renders the entire production a perfect propaganda poster. While the pace lags at times, Goodbye Cruel World is a wonderful example of playful political satire."
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Venus Zarris
Time Out Chicago- Recommended
"...Parker boils down the play’s 20-some characters for a cast of six, and much of his play’s loopy comedy comes from the actors’ frantic quick changes. Director Bob Kruse gleefully parades them through the ever-slamming door at the center of the whimsical set (team-designed by Kruse, Delia Baseman, Kate Nawrocki and Emily Schwartz). But the playwright retains much of Erdman’s real bite. Courted by Russian intelligentsia, clergy, actresses and opportunists who all want to be named in his suicide note, Semyón realizes the Soviet state has made him more valuable in death than in life, even as he finds himself unable to go through with the final act (Cupper’s pas de deux with his pistol is priceless stuff). At moments, Parker’s farcical treatment feels too much at odds with the righteous anger behind Erdman’s original; the author got shipped off to Siberia for his writings, after all. But if comedy is tragedy plus time, Strange Tree’s production is worth a hello."
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Kris Vire
ChicagoCritic- Recommended
"... Goodbye Cruel World has seldom been performed and this is the first mounting in the Midwest, offering Chicagoans both the pleasure of the comedy and a unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes clue as to what kindofworks were censored by the Communist government."
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Beverly Friend
Chicago Theater Beat- Highly Recommended
"...The summer is all about having fun. For three months, we try to shift into our childhood school break. We turn the extended daylight hours into post-work summer vacation. Goodbye Cruel World is a lively, romping mockery. It’s like sipping a cold, icy Miller Lite. It may not be a craft beer but it is less filling and tastes great. Sometimes on a hot evening, that’s all you need to amuse yourself."
Katy Walsh
Around The Town Chicago- Somewhat Recommended
"... It is not often that I attend a comedy where I do not laugh. I am pretty open to anything and in fact, many first -nighters know when I am in the audience, no matter the size of the theater. Strange Tree Group is a group of talented actors dedicated to creating intricate,intimate theatrical experience that reach out beyond the boundaries of traditional theater. They fear nothing! Their current production,”Goodbye Cruel World” an adaptation of Nicolai Erdman’s “The Suicide” by Robert Ross Parker, has many talented actors but the story is one that is not funny to most audience members. As often is the case on an opening night, members of the company and friends and family of those involved do laugh ( even when something is not funny), but I found that much of the laughter in tonight’s performance was more of a nervous titter than the fact that the script or story was hysterical."
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Alan Bresloff
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