REVIEW: "Up" in Chicago

Performance: Saturday, August 1st @ 7:30pm

Location: Steppenwolf Theatre

I have been attending productions at the Steppenwolf Theatre since 2001 when I was looking for a show to see and sight unseen purchased a ticket to The Drawer Boy. Since then, the Steppenwolf has become my favorite theatre and I make a couple trips up every year to see productions.

I was greatly anticipating seeing Up not only for the story it would tell, but also to see another show directed by Tony Award winning director, Anna Shapiro. I became a fast fan of her work after seeing August: Osage County during it's original run at the Steppenwolf before making its way to Broadway.

Playwright, Bridget Carpenter's inspiration for Up came from her knowledge of Larry Walters, a truck driver who took flight in a lawn chair attached to 45 helium filled weather balloons in 1982. Eleven short years later, in 1993, Walters would commit suicide. Carpenter said in an interview, "That haunted me. I found it sad but unsurprising, somehow. I couldn't stop thinking about the flight, how magical it was. I think I wrote Up because I wanted to meet the man that did this beautiful, funny thing."

As the lights went down in the theatre, I took one breath in and the audience around me disappeared; I didn't exhale until the lights came up for intermission. It felt as if only moments had passed and it came as a shock to once again realize that I was sitting amongst hundreds of other theatre-goers.

Walter Griffin (Ian Barford) had his own story of flight in his homemade aircraft and spends his days chasing after the next invention, just out of his grasp, that will bring him the same recognition. Walter's wife, Helen (Lauren Katz) works full time as a mail carrier to support the family, which includes high school aged son, Mikey (Jake Cohen). Lives intersect when Mikey meets another student with no friends, Maria (Rachel Brosnahan), who also happens to be pregnant and her aunt Chris (Martha Lavey). I would be remiss if I did not mention Walter's muse, Philippe Petit (Tony Hernandez).


Above: Rehearsal Photos - (Top) Rachel Brosnahan & Lauren Katz (Bottom) Ian Barford

Below: (Top) Tony Hernandez in rehearsal (Bottom) Philippe Petit in 2009

This talented cast flawlessly wove a story that makes one question how to balance imagination and dreams with daily responsibilities. How many people give up their dreams and squelch their imagination to focus all of their energy on making a living, taking care of family, and creating financial security? How many throw caution to the wind to pursue their dreams, indulge their imagination, and follow what they love?

Anna Shapiro (left) expressed, in an interview with Martha Lavey (Artistic Director & Cast Member), "Up speaks to the experience of not being recognized in your expression, of living a life where your imagination is not valued. As I lamented the demands of my life, I was brought up hard against how rare it is to be a person whose expression is allowed, let alone lauded or appreciated." Shapiro's direction offered a fluidity that created poetry on stage. While direction is required, it is rare to take in a performance where it is as complimentary to the story as in Up.

Up closes August 23rd, 2009. I would highly recommend this show to anyone who may be in the Chicagoland area. You will not be disappointed. I already have plans to take in Fake and Parallelogram in the 2009/2010 season.

To see additional photos and videos from this production or to learn more about the Steppenwolf Theatre, visit their website, here.

*NOTE: Cast photos came from the Steppenwolf website and interview excerpts were taken from the Up program.