Lulu play in Chicago

The Silent Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois is currently staging LULU at City Lit Theater, which is located at 1020 West Bryn Mawr in Chicago. Performances run Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 pm and Sundays at 8:00 pm through December 18th, 2005. Tickets are $15 and are available through the box office; call 773-544-1749.



From the press release: "LULU marks the inaugural production for Silent Theater Company. This new company is dedicated to pushing the envelope and stretching the limits of what we conceive theatre to be today.  This production was originally produced as part of The Journeymen Theater Company's 2002 season. It received critical success including being 'Highly recommended' by the Chicago Reader. Now, tonika todorova, artistic Director for Silent Theater Company, revisits her work. She states: 'The journey of this woman is as captivating as it is reflective on society and its attitude toward the amoral.'

LULU is adapted from German playwright Frank Wedekind's 1894 Lulu cycle Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box and follows the escapades of the unbearably sexy Lulu who causes many to destroy themselves while pursuing the maddening passion she inspires.

LULU is beautiful, narcissistic and young. She is a woman who possesses a thrilling combination of powerful sexuality and candid innocence that has made her the object of ardent admiration since childhood. As Lulu passes through Berlin's high society, she exercises a cruel power over the many men and women who love her to the point of obsession, exploiting them before she herself can be used. But her beauty is cursed, and her power short-lived; it is she who will ultimately be destroyed by her lovers.

LULU presents its story in complete silence. It takes the silent film genre, combined with German expressionism and portrays it on stage to accent with gesticulation and body language, what words sometimes fail to express. And on Christmas Eve, the concupiscent nature of Lulu reminds us that every man's desire to sin deserves to be answered. On Christmas Eve, Lulu finally gets her wish.

LULU includes: Brendan Greenwood Balfe, Nicholas DuFloth, Lauren Ashley Fisher, Gillian Hastings, Curtis M. Jackson, Matthew Massaro, Al an Pelesi , Marvin Eduardo Quijada, Joe Vonderhaar and Kyla Louise Webb. Lighting design by:  Jennifer Larkin. Set design by: Rick Gleeson.LULU is directed by tonika todorova with original music by Isaiah Robinson."

For more information and additional images see www.silenttheatre.com Should any readers of this LiveJournal attend the play in Chicago I would ask that they post their impressions.

Some neat Louise Brooks pics

Some neat Louise Brooks pics can be found at http://editorial.acionline.biz/  Once there, search for "Louise Brooks." This commercial photo archive also has pics of other silent film stars like Nazimova, Garbo, Clara Bow, Esther Ralston and others.

Believe it or not

This falls under believe it or not . . . . An article in today's North Adams Transcript (the newspaper serving the Northern Berkshires in Massachusetts) called my attention to a bizarre website called The Bone Trade which claims to possess genetic samples from various deceased movie stars - including Louise Brooks.



The website specializes in necrobilia, with their stated aim being "the 'resurrection' of actresses from the Golden era of silent cinema." The small specimens collection claims genetic material from the likes of Garbo, Nazimova, Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Olive Thomas, etc.... "To do this we are securing a large body of quality genetic material from a variety of sources which is subjected to rigorous testing to ensure its validity . . . .We intend to work closely with science organisations to perfect safe and reliable human duplication techniques. We are already in discussion with several studios interested in becoming parents to these new stars of old." What will they think of next?

North Carolina and New Jersey

Yesterday, I looked through microfilm of two newspapers, the Charlottle Observer (from Charlotte, North Carolina) and theJerseyman (from Morristown, New Jersey). And in each, I found material about a Louise Brooks' appearance with the Denishawn Dance Company as well as her later role in The American Venus (1926).

Denishawn appeared in Charlotte in February, 1923 - and the substantial review which ran in the Observer noted "Denishawn Company Plays to Large House Here." I found that review, an earlier article, and some advertisements. That coverage was dwarfed by what appeared in the Jerseyman. This small town New Jersey newspaper gave the troupe a substantial front page review of their late April, 1924 performance. Prior to that, the paper had devoted two other front page stories to Denishawn - each noting their upcoming engagement. I also uncovered two distinct advertisements for their appearance at the Morristown High School Auditorium. (This Denishawn event - like many others - was a benefit. This engagement benefitted "the Fund for the Installation of the greatest Carillon of Bells now in this country, recently erected at Morristown." The performance raised more than $2,000.)



Along with the Denishawn material, I also found a few items relating to the screening of  The American Venus in Morristown. (Especially interesting are reviews of this film from New Jersey newspapers, as the film was partially shot at the Atlantic City Miss America contest of 1925.) Among the material I found in the Jerseyman was an article entitled "How Fay Lanphier Was Chosen 'Miss America' and 'American Venus'." No doubt supplied by the studio, it addressed the controversy over Lanphier's selection as Miss America and her awarding of a movie contract (by Walter Wanger) to appear in The American Venus.

A Russian rarity

A Russian postcard depicting Louise Brooks is for sale on eBay. The card dates to 1928! It is amazing to think that Brooks' modest fame travelled as far as the U.S.S.R. (Interestingly, the portrait of Brooks is by M.I. Boris, who before he moved to New York City was at one-time a court photographer in the Austrio-Hungarian Empire!) Also, please note: this card has been trimmed

Today

Today would have been Louise Brooks 99th birthday. Happy birthday Louise, our Lulu.