The Caffeine Theatre's 'Under Milk Wood' is a Jolt of Fun

Last night, the Caffeine Theatre in association with the Chicago DCA Theater opened Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood at the Storefront Theater.  Thomas' dark "Day in the Life" comedy about the fictional Welsh town of "Llareggub" explores the theme of isolation in an ever shrinking world, while still celebrating the glorious possibilities humanity offers.  First broadcast in 1954 as a radio play, Director Paul S. Holmquist and a cast of nine bring to life over forty characters through fetes of physicality and a mastery of Thomas' language.

Kudos to Holmquist and the production team for immediately setting the stage and focusing the audience. And frankly, with the language that was in store for us, I probably needed the most focusing of all.  With a beautiful multi-purpose dock, a warm light plot that served the dual purpose of showing the passage of time as well as drawing the audience to a new character and a sound design that drowned out the lady on her cell phone in the front row up to the very last second, this small yet wonderful space, was transformed into the town of Llareggub.  

Holmquist's staging of this production was extremely well done, enhancing the play's poetry.  In the first two to three minutes of the piece, a lot of stimuli are thrown at you.  The sounds of the waves, the Welsh accents, the poetry...it's a lot to get your bearings around while trying to follow the plot being established.  However, when the "Voices" (the roles the actors play when they are not playing a specific character) joined "Captain Cat" (superbly embodied by Dave Skvarla) as the waves of the ocean, they filled the picture out and allowed me to immerse myself in the world of the play. 

The ensemble put in a wonderful performance last night.  Each actor played about 3-5 characters each, distinguishing them through their physicalities, few props and a mastery of Thomas' poetry.  Stand out Kate Nawrocki helped every punch line to leap off Thomas' page, while then turning on a dime to exude the sadness of "Rosie Probert" - the dead love of "Captain Cat" who starts to forget her own existence.

Under Milk Wood shows us as much as we think we know our loved ones and friends, we really don't.  A little Chekhovian, a little Thornton Wilder, this Caffeine Theatre performance leaves you thinking, like all good theatre should. This wonderfully complex, and occasionally sad, character piece is a must see and a general reminder that we should all be better human beings.    

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