The latest offering at the always unusual and interesting Redmoon Theater is "Dr. Egg and the Man with No Ear."
True to form, this production, the concept of Jessica Wilson and Catherine Fargher, based on Fargher's original story, serves audiences this company's traditional and trademark blend of artsy, if not borderline bizarre, puppets, avant garde characters and abstract storytelling.
I've loved so many of the Redmoon shows I've experienced in the past, I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite.
But one thing I can pin-point is this show would not rank towards the top of my picks.
To keep with the egg analogy, if all of the favorite shows I've enjoyed at Redmoon were likened to a plate of delicious, fluffy, farm-fresh scrambled eggs, "Dr. Egg and the Man with No Ear," in my opinion, amounts to the caloric equivalent of those Egg Beater substitutes.
Sure, it has potential and some of what satisfies, but overall, I was still left hungry, craving something more.
The storyline amounts to a man, played by Brandon Boler, who tragically loses his ear, causing him to mourn a double loss, since the same maiming accident also cost his wife her life. However, since there is a bright side to every dark cloud, before the woman's demise, she leaves behind a baby daughter which becomes the man's pride and joy. As the years fly by, the daughter, played by Rebecca Mauldin, is eager to return a gift to her father as a way of acknowledging everything he has (literally) sacrificed to raise her. With the help of an over-the-top scientist, played by Adam Shalzi, whose hobby is dabbling in genetics, the daughter joins forces with this mysterious man in a white lab coat to help her father's dream of earning back his missing ear.
Guiding the audience through the story is Dominic Green, who serves in the very meaty (how meaty, he gets to sing) role as the Narrator, an identity so obnoxious and in-your-face, that I really felt distracted by his puppet-master approach to the production.
The sets and props are fun and inventive, and the puppets, as usual, don't disappoint. John Horan, the lighting director, is really right on the money.
It's the story and lack of character development which I think really weakens "Dr. Egg and the Man with No Ear."
Of course, the overall idea that is being force-fed (no pun intended) to the audience is the idea of how wrong it is to play God and/or Dr. Frankenstein by fooling around with genetic experimentation, be it "Frankenfood," i.e. generically altered food or cloning.
In her director's note in the program, Wilson says this production is "based on an original contemporary moral tale" and inspired by an article that discussed the idea of celebrities patenting their DNA to protect themselves from "DNA Theft," so someone like Brad Pitt's DNA could NOT be harvested by the cells left behind on a wine glass once he left a fancy restaurant.
And since this is only a one hour play, perhaps there simply isn't enough time for this show to accomplish what really needs to be accomplished. (However, even at one hour, I found myself looking at my watch, something I NEVER do when at the Redmoon Theater).
If you're a fan of dancing, squeaking tomatoes, mad dogs, fish scales and occasional freak show tactics, check this out and decide for yourself.
"Dr. Egg and the Man with No Ear" runs through Oct. 19 at Redmoon Theater, 1463 W. Hubbard St. in Chicago. Tickets are $15 to $35 and available at (312) 850-8440 or www.redmoon.org.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.
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