Connect with Four Play at StudioBE

The original musical, Four Play, opened last night at StudioBE.  Written by Jamie Campbell and Amanda Murphy, Four Play ponders the question if there is comedy to be found in tragedy, does it come with a soundtrack?  Starring Rich Baker, Heather Bodie, Amanda Murphy and Ted Sima, Four Play follows four thirty-something Chicagoans in the spirit of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity (minus the annoying whining). 

It is way too easy for producers to throw together a tired revival, than it is to take a risk on an original work.  Four Play has existed in several forms around town over the past couple of years; however, this is the world premiere of the fully-flushed out production in its entirety.  It is a pleasure to see an original musical survive from the kernel of an idea to a full production.  Unfortunately, it's not done enough these days. 

There were a couple of through-lines I found a bit unsatisfying.  Nonetheless, the characters were engaging. Also, the music is pretty catchy. You will leave the theatre humming, so kudos to Murphy, who also doubled as co-Music Director, and Paul W. Thompson for their work on that.  Campbell, also serving as Director, did an admirable job staging Four Play in the space.  I equate StudioBE to Wrigley Field.  There are poles everywhere, screwing up your sightline.  I think Campbell did all he could to navigate the actors through it.   

The strongest part of the production was the acting, so kudos to the production team for giving the actors the space to do their thing.  As Lydia and Peter, Heather Bodie and Rich Baker did lovely jobs simply making their neurotic characters likable. If Lydia and Peter were put in the hands of less-capable actors, they would have been unmitigated disasters.  As Polly, Murphy has simply one of the most angelic, undiscovered voices in Chicago.  Finally, Ted Sima could easily have stolen the show if the rest of the ensemble wasn't on their game.  Sima was charming and sympathetic as Charlie.

Four Play runs Wednesdays at 8pm, now through June 16^th at StudioBE.  Support good original work and check out it out before it is gone. Tickets are available now at brownpapertickets.com.