PicksInSix Review: Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon - Lookingglass Theatre Company
Talented Ensemble Drives Lookingglass’s Comic “Honeymoon”
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton
Satire is a much-missed tool in our world these days. We are so afraid, it seems, to examine issues from a humorous standpoint for fear of offending someone. The latest offering at Lookingglass Theatre Company, the world premiere of “Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon,” seeks in no uncertain terms to conquer such fears. With a bold concept to play with – bringing a suggestion of a concert stage to a theatrical narrative – the play’s creator and Lookingglass ensemble member Matthew C. Yee (who plays Charlie and also a pretty mean guitar) has presented to the audience a kind of amalgam of styles and targets. And it works to a point.
Charlie Chan (yes, that’s the name… the last name of five characters in the piece) and his new bride Lucy (played to a powerful hilt by Aurora Adachi-Winter) set off on a kind of crime spree that begins with robbing $250 from a convenience store. As it happens, there’s a video made of the robbery, and the couple becomes minorly Bonnie-and-Clyde famous. As time passes, the road party becomes a recognition of the fact that these two newlyweds don’t really know each other that well, and that what they have in common boils down to societal anarchy.
At one stop they meet a unique couple. Bao, a Chinese immigrant (Harmony Zhang with fine comic timing), is a victim of a sex trafficking crime syndicate that Lucy seems to have deigned in a divine way. Her other half Gabriel (Matt Bittner) is supposed to guard his “prisoner” and eventually take her to Martin (the excellent Doug Pawlik), along with some cash payment. Of course that doesn’t really happen. It can be a bit muddy, but also playful at times.
The real strength onstage lies in the ensemble work. Director Amanda Dehnert has worked with Mr. Yee to find performers who can play musical instruments, a not uncommon tact in casting these days. Mr. Yee composed the music, of course, and he leads his players with a mean and fun country approach on his guitar. Mr. Pawlik is a fine guitarist and bassist as well. Cast members alternate their efforts on drums and percussion. On the story’s front, two members of law enforcement – Feinberg (Mary Williamson), who happens to love karaoke music, and Peter (Rammel Chan), Charlie’s pretty straight-laced deputy brother – are working with the FBI to crack the case. Fun work from both actors.
Daniel Lee Smith offers Jeff as an almost Cheech-and-Chong homage. Jeff lives with Grandma (Wai Ching Ho, who steals every scene she has in a shining comic performance), whose wisdom as the matriarch of the Chan clan guides all to a reunion at the family cabin in the mountains. Suddenly Martin, gun in hand, shows up with Bao and… well, the ending should remain a surprise for audience members. All of it sits on a visually entertaining set, designed by Yu Shibagaki, that reminds one of the kitsch side of America – truck stops, flea markets and the like.
Now for the satire. It admittedly becomes a little campy at times, but to Mr. Yee’s credit, few stones are left unturned. There is commentary on the Asian immigrant experience, personal responsibility and ethnicity, and traditions. There are looks at gun ownership and family dynamic, as well as a realization of modern life and the difficulty to assimilate in our country these days. It’s a wide-ranging, often hilarious, attempt to satirize and in its own way, the Yee script certainly makes a definitive point or two. All in all, it’s unique and unconventional storytelling with a dramatic narrative unfolding in a high-energy pseudo-concert venue, not unlike Million Dollar Quartet and Pump Boys and Dinettes, with an artful fusion of country western music and Asian culture.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com Coming soon, his new solo play “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com
PHOTO|Liz Lauren
LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANY
presents
WORLD PREMIERE
LUCY AND CHARLIE’S HONEYMOON
through July 11, 2023
Tickets
312.337.0665
Website
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