“Kitty James” is on the Trail of a Medallion and Love
By Nick Nicholas with Wes Hessel
The Factory Theater, in its 30th year creating new plays and entertaining audiences in Chicago at 1623 W. Howard St., is paying homage to classic adventure films with a new play “Kitty James and Destiny’s Trail to Oregon” through March 29, written by Phil Claudnic and directed by Jennifer Betancourt. A competent, disciplined, and dedicated cast of more than ten committed actors took us in a fast hop-on, hop-off wagon trip in scenes, which are well staged, well timed, choreographed, and performed with candid honesty by actors who are having fun as they introduce their often hilarious characters playing off of one another – upbeat, energetic, and with chemistry.
The play evolves and is centered in the pursuit of the missing half of a medallion, which when found and put together brings good fortune and most importantly, love; the love most all seek or have sought to find in someone whose other half completes and satisfies our hearts. These quests abound on stage as the characters are smitten, or blatantly in love, or have a crush with another, and how they navigate their love interests in well edited short scenes that move quickly in a set and costume designs that enhance the feel and look of this production.
Kim Boler in the lead role as Kitty is the axle of the work, stirs the wagon with charm and determination having many good moments with the other players who all come through in their characters. Vic Kuligoski as Norris, the man who works with Kitty, is one of those charismatic actors whose promising career one wants to follow. If this was an old Hollywood studio screen test, he would have been under contract as he stood out while always an ensemble player, and was in character every minute, lines or no lines. Secretly in love with Kitty, it becomes clear that the medallion is as much a compass and a treasure hunt representing the quest to find someone to love and since it is in two pieces finding the other half that can make us feel complete.
This quest is a journey to the wild West one must make. Kitty and the entourage stage family of more than ten actor characters ride the scenes with speed and everyone’s timing in moving about on stage is impeccable – so is the combat fighting choreography. This production and cast has put in the work and it shows as it delivers this light hearted comedy with exuberance.
Phil Claudnic and Jay Berger are the parents who bake a big enough cake from scratch to feed all the worker-artists of the Factory Theater family, and satisfy everyone with lots of it left for an audience to have a slice of joy. So don’t miss this travail on the trail – for tickets or more information, please travel to www.thefactorytheater.com.
Category: Uncategorized
