Mistakes Were Made
A Red Orchid Theatre’s premiere of ’Mistakes Were Made’ might just be the city’s most aptly production currently running, but that isn’t entirely a compliment. This show, marked by fantastic acting of an ambitious script, is not without flaw, even if its shortcomings prove to almost seem intentional to its central themes.
The production is a world premiere for playwright Craig Wright, known for his Emmy-nominated work with Six Feet Under, and director Dexter Bullard. It is mainly a one-man show, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of Felix Artifex, an overambitious Broadway producer. The lead is played brilliantly by the Red Orchid founding ensemble member Michael Shannon, who is best known for his Oscar-nominated work as the mentally-disturbed genius, John Givings, in Revolutionary Road.
Shannon’s role in this work is equally unstable. At the show’s start, we find him sitting behind the desk in his Manhattan office, juggling the many phone calls and commitments being paged through by Esther (Mierka Girten). The project of the day: Pitching ’Mistakes Were Made,’ an epic play based on the French Revolution, to an A-list actor while trying to please the conflicting views of its playwright and director. As Artifex lurches, gestures and moans about the stage, popping pills and chatting up his pet fish between the elaborate metaphors that pepper the script, he pulls the audience into his tense world of desperation.
With the desperation mounting amid an under-explained sheep-dipping project in the Middle East and an estranged former lover entering the fray, Shannon’s powerful performance slowly begins to overcrowd the tiny theater space to a point that simply cannot conclude on a high point. When the verbal gymnastics of the script’s many twists and turns reach their melting point by the show’s end - with suggested plot-lines, publicists and - wait, what was that about sheep, again? - the audience is left somewhat mentally exhausted. What had been built as a stick of dynamite sure to explode had simply smoldered, instead.
The show’s strange denouement from a climax that never quite happened aside, Wright’s script is both ambitious and hilarious, and is admirable for that reason alone. The one-liners are numerous and never-ending. As just one example, at one point Artifex references a director’s back-up project to his French revolution show: A musical version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" starring Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus. Lines like these would not be as amusing if they were not at some level believable. Additionally, the set design is simple, yet feels genuine right down the tiniest of details, and Girten deserves a mention for her strong performance, even if most of it is delivered from off-stage.
But what is most notable about this play - besides the noted "mistakes" above - is the palpable passion and dedication to the project from all parties involved in this exertion. Continuing in the growing tradition of A Red Orchid’s risky theater, the show is executed with conviction and is far from a safe outing. With a bit of honing, this show could be a masterpiece. It’s not too far off already.
’Mistakes Were Made’ runs through October 18 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St, with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at www.aredorchidtheatre.org or by calling 312-943-8722.
