Rose & The Rime

Rose and the Rime – Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times 3/2/09 “I confess I grew more than a little wary as I waited for the House Theatre’s new show, “Rose and the Rime,” to get underway Friday at the Chopin Theatre.

Yes, the white tent structure stretched over Chopin’s mainstage space happily rekindled the “event” feeling that was so much a part of the ensemble’s performances at its former home, the Viaduct. But the sight of actors prancing around in funky variations on long underwear and sleep caps, with white tissue-paper snow drifting through the air, was just a bit too much like a precious twist on old-fashioned children’s theater.

As it turns out, this latest House Theatre narrative — the work of Chris Mathews, Jake Minton and director Nathan Allen — once again taps into that faux-naive, slightly time-warped style that has become the company’s trademark, a twee tone that can wear decidedly thin. Yet the story also has inspired some wonderfully imaginative stagecraft and a unique approach to movement.

Putting a modern-day, Upper Peninsula spin on “The Snow Queen” (that icicle-tipped Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale already a staple at Victory Gardens Theatre), and drawing on Redmoon Theatre’s seasonal frolics in which a terrible winter morphs into a rite of spring, “Rose and the Rime” tells the story of a tiny Michigan town, Radio Falls, that has become trapped in a perpetual winter.

It is up to the fearless and determined Rose (Carolyn Defrin, the lovely actress-dancer so memorable from “The Sparrow”) to break this frosty spell, for it was the dual passion of two brothers for her mother that triggered the wintry lockdown in the first place.

History, it should be noted, repeats itself, as two brothers (played by Brandon Ruiter and Joey Steakley) vie for Rose.

Credit choreographer Tommy Rapley, composer Kevin O’Donnell and designers Collette Pollard, Debbie Baer, Joshua Horvath and Lee Keenan for their playful, sometimes poetic work. It goes a long way toward filling in the storytelling gaps.

This 80-minute show ordinarily is performed without an intermission, though at Friday’s performance Defrin suffered an attack of lightheadedness so perfectly timed that most in the audience initially thought it was part of the show. And after a brief break the actress continued in true “show must go on” fashion.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 2/23/09 – “In the best part of House Theatre’s new fairy tale, “Rose and the Rime,” the inhabitants of the tiny Michigan town of Radio Falls are suddenly freed from the grips of a perpetual, curse-induced winter. In a euphoric flurry of active relief, these Fargo-like creatures shed earmuffs, gloves, hats, sweaters, coats and boots, breaking out the grills and shades, and exposing their naked skin to the sun as if they’d just stepped off some magical plane from Midway to Miami.

This whole intensely creative show—which deals with a plucky young girl who stares down an evil witch, only to confront the ambivalence of power—is relentlessly optimistic. That’s one of the great pleasures of the House. Whatever its fiscal woes, this remarkable company pops back up like an Energizer bunny (there are even bunnies in the show), begging us to rediscover our inner college student, turn on our emotional spigots, stare into the face of our demons, and go play with them, out in the sunshine.

“Rose and the Rime” originated at Hope College—from where it became an acclaimed production at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival—and that’s evident not only in the appearance of tulips and a resemblance between Radio Falls and Holland, Mich. The show has a collegiate sense of vitality. If it can find the heart-on-its-sleeve teenage audience, it could thrive. And when it had its original student cast, which helped the team of Chris Mathews, Jake Minton and Nathan Allen plot out the piece, I’m sure it felt like a magical experience.

In its professional debut, the show shows some cracks. The deepest problem—and it prevents this show from being all it could be—concerns that thorny old business of truth.

They aren’t crude characterizations—Allen is too warm and empathetic a director for that. And one can certainly accept the heightened style. It’s just that House’s sweet spot lies between reality and theatricality, just as it likes to probe the thematic notions of how what you wish for can also bring you down (which, after all, is why you wish for it all the more).

The House magic works only when you see yourself. If the acting gets too broad, the energy too frenetic, if sufficient attention isn’t paid to quiet moments, if all the childlike exuberance too often gets the better of straightforward life, then you find yourself marginalizing so much that’s good and fresh.

The spell gets broken.

The people of Radio Falls need to be made real. It’s that simple. Then we’ll believe their witch. Then the sun will come out—and, I sincerely, hope, stay out—for this gutsy, crucial Chicago theater”.

Albert Williams, Chicago Reader 2/26/09 – “The House Theatre of Chicago’s inventive new show puts a contemporary spin on themes from classic fairy tales and fantasies–Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings are notable influences. Its brave young heroine, Rose (Carolyn Defrin), undertakes a dangerous journey from her snowbound Michigan hometown to the even more frigid north to wrest the town’s magical talisman–a coin that can nurture or destroy those who possess it–from the Rime Witch, who stole it. Director/coauthor Nathan Allen employs striking scenic and sound design and stylized ensemble movement to dramatize Rose’s quest and the surprising developments that follow from it”

Kris Vire, TimeOut Chicago 2/26/09 – “To my knowledge, Robert Wilson has never directed a fifth-grade class play. While Europe’s relatively lavish arts funding might allow for such a project—much of the American visual auteur Wilson’s work is bankrolled there—Chicagoans need not book a transatlantic ticket. A reasonable facsimile is now available. The latest offering from the House Theatre pairs the company’s flair for lush spectacle with an aggressively juvenile scenario.

The House has always skated on thin ice with its celebration of the Magic of Storytelling and its power to awaken the Child Within. While a certain goofy charm saved its previous servings of superhero and Western pastiche, the grim whimsy of Rose is unrelenting: This is perhaps the most elaborate homage to the Snow Miser segment of Year Without a Santa Claus ever devised. The town of Radio Falls labors under permanent winter, until the intrepid Rose (tireless, pixielike Carolyn Defrin) retrieves a magic coin from the Rime Witch. But as Rose and we learn at length, all gifts come with a price, evil lurks within the hearts of men, and, yes, every rose has its thorn.

Not that the production lacks for exuberance. Designer Collette Pollard transforms the interior of the Chopin into a snow globe, within which elaborate, kinetic sequences portray the perilous journey through icy wastes and forests of evil trees. And after this past winter, the cast’s frenetic swimsuit sequence comes as genuinely cathartic. But you don’t need winter to think that, for all its flash, Rose and the Rime feels like nothing at all”

Centerstage.com – “Capturing the art of extravagance and the sinister relics of the Brothers Grimm, “Rose and the Rime” is no ordinary fairytale. For one thing, it takes place in the “magical” state of Michigan, in a fictional town that hasn’t seen the likes of a beach barbeque in years due to the curse of the Rime Witch, who froze the town into a state of constant snow, ice and darkness. The town’s last glimpse at youthful warmth comes in the form of Rose (Carolyn Defrin), a sprightly female Where’s Waldo, who must save the town from its snowy slumber.

On a sparsely furnished set that requires little more than confetti and a tarp, “Rose and the Rime” charms, teases and thrills audience members with its inventive display of acrobatics, song, dance and musical cacophony – poetic bursts range from a love song played on a free-standing bass to a haunting instrumental played exclusively on wine bottles. Very much anchored on physical movements, “Rose’s” choreography is pure, shivery brilliance. Two particular favorites include Rose fighting a forest of sighing tree branches and a simulated pregnancy as told through sock puppets, though there were so many dazzling transformations that even the simplest act, like shoveling snow, became something wondrous. The supporting cast of townspeople was as fanciful as it was fundamental, and each lent an air of spontaneity to the otherwise bleak surroundings. Indeed, once Rose returns from her perilous journey, the townspeople erupt into a frenzy unseen since the days of MTV’s Spring Break. But the party doesn’t last long, as curses are wont to do, and the people are faced with a new kind of villain: themselves.

The House Theatre of Chicago hasn’t lost its touch for playful yearning or decadent theatricality. And “Rose” is one fairytale that you’ll definitely want to see live happily ever after”

Chicagocritic.com “Rose and the Rime, the latest new work from the talented artists from The House Theatre of Chicago, is a stylized engaging work that utilizes many of The House’s trade marks: inventive staging, unique sounds, excellent choreography and movement, original songs and an ordinary person as a hero. There are miniature houses, hand puppets, original music, ad-libs, humorous bits and business with some wacky characters all welded into a fable that plays out as a morality tale.

Using a team of live white clad helpers—more snow flakes than people, we witness Rose’s struggle against the entrapment of ice and snow that yields several stylized scenes with snow flakes flying and fancifully staged climbing effort as Rose deftly navigates her way out of the ice encampment. These scenes were fascinating. Eventually Rose defeats the Rime Witch and gains possessions of the magic coin. The town folks celebrate as the sun quickly melts the ice. The residents strip into shorts to get a sun tan. Rose is the town’s hero. Rose and Jimmy (Brandon Ruiter) quickly become an item and a child results. Everyone celebrates until the town folks discover that the witch’s magic coin has two sides. But Rose’s hero status doesn’t mean she lives ‘happily ever after.

The play aptly demonstrates the darker side of human nature as greed and jealousy over come the folks. Rose and the Rime is the latest version of The House’s favorite myth—a reminder that anything powerful enough to fulfill one’s dreams is powerful enough to destroy them. Rose and the Rime is tight, fast paced and well executed. Those new to The House’s work will be fascinated—the House’s loyal fans will be delighted with the staging. I’m sure this show will satisfy those who enjoy inventive theatre. The House has another hit on their hands. Carolyn Defrin is terrific as Rose”

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DEFRIN

Christopher Piatt, TimeOut Chicago 2/19/09 – “Carolyn Defrin was a waitress at Spiaggia before one of its regulars was the President of the United States. The long-limbed, slyly ethereal Northwestern drama grad could easily pick up a couple hundred bucks in an evening, and because the management was gracious enough—or Defrin was charming enough—the restaurant accommodated her constantly erratic, touch-and-go schedule.

On the nights the Massachusetts native wasn’t serving celebrity diners, she was dancing and acting in her friends’ plays inside a warehouse. And because the then-twentysomething artists incorporated enough 20th-century pop iconography into their cheap, rowdy plays to attract new theatergoers across multiple generations, Defrin’s nights away from Spiaggia became a significant part of Chicago-theater mythology.

Six months ago, and almost exactly six years after The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, her first play with the House Theatre of Chicago, Carolyn Defrin turned 30. She also quit waiting tables.

“I think I shocked my managers,” Defrin says in her chilled-out, vaporous alto. “I just came in one night and told them I was done.”

If they were surprised by her present to herself, it’s because Defrin is the kind of woman who usually doesn’t walk out. From the first days of the House, when merely ten company members sat licking envelopes stuffed with letters soliciting donations to their nonprofit start-up from friends and family, Defrin has been an invaluable House go-to person both behind and in the scenes.

“Carolyn is the mom. She’s the rock of the company,” says Cliff Chamberlain, the charismatic House actor. “The reason she’s always speaking at events and putting together things like opening-night cast gifts is because she’s got the biggest heart, but she’s also the person who can get things done.” The resourceful Defrin once procured a $5,000 check from a generous Spiaggia customer who was an arts patron.

It was also Defrin who, after performing in a Lookingglass show, persuaded that company’s Laura Eason to check out Peter Pan. The House’s second outing and its first in the Viaduct, the outsize converted shed that shaped the group’s shabby/seductive aesthetic and image, impressed Eason sufficiently that she tipped off local newspaper critics who trekked out to the makeshift space by the Western and Belmont overpass and were thrilled by what they saw. And so began a blitz of media coverage that produced huge audiences—and ever-mounting pressure—for the House. Some found the troupe overrated; many more were entranced by it.

Defrin was roped into the House by honcho Nathan Allen, whom she met when the two studied in London. In the first few years, Defrin, along with the sportsmanlike Marika Mashburn, Maria McCullough and Lauren Vitz, took turns playing every female role the male-heavy company needed filled.

Though noticeably less daring in its story than previous House shows, the Midwestern fairy tale inarguably held mass appeal; The Sparrow eventually played in front of 20,000 people. Carrying the heavy show effortlessly on her back, Defrin never missed a performance, despite grueling dance work and nonunion labor conditions. (Fortunately, the insurance that came with the Apollo run enabled her to make a much-needed visit to a bone doctor.)

Her main income now comes primarily from teaching and performance. Also, as the House Theatre’s director of education, Defrin helped spearhead a ticket-purchasing program in which companies organize a night of theater for their employees, who buy one ticket for themselves and one for an underserved Chicago public-school student. More than 600 kids have scored tickets, about $15,000 worth.

This weekend, Defrin opens as the lead in Rose and the Rime at Wicker Park’s Chopin Theatre, several blocks and a pubescent world away from the early Viaduct shows. Despite a desperate, public series of fund-raising pleas, the House can afford to mount only two of its three originally announced shows for the season. April’s planned production of Alan Infinitum has been temporarily shelved, making this the House’s first subscription season without a third play. The kind of midlevel nonprofit the House so rapidly became—its mid-six-figures annual budget is neither guv’ment cheese nor caviar—can only go so far in a culture with such meagerly supported arts. That’s even with legitimate superheroes like Defrin giving it their all.

House Theatre dodges the wrecking ball, is back with ‘Rose and the Rime’

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 2/18/09 – “Dave DaVinci may have saved the universe. But he nearly catapulted the House Theatre of Chicago into oblivion.

House Theatre’s fall production, staged at the Chopin Theatre, was a disaster for the company. It wasn’t so much an artistic failure—I enjoyed the cleverly plotted “Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe,” albeit a little less than in its first incarnation in 2005. It was just that House had hoped that the tens of thousands of Chicagoans who came to see “The Sparrow,” a huge 2007 hit with three runs in three spaces, would come back for “Dave.” They did not.

“It did not meet expectations,” said artistic director Nathan Allen, sounding like the managing director of some major arts organization.

“OK, it sold horribly,” said Allen, sounding more like his true, likable self. Why? Well, House had just left its longtime home at the Viaduct after discovering that the venue, which never liked being confused as the House Theatre, wasn’t willing to accommodate its growth. That took a toll. It was tough to re-create the House’s good-time atmosphere at the Chopin Theatre, which lacks a bar.

Then there was the tanking economy and distractions of the presidential election. Most significantly, though, “DaVinci” was a reprise production—which is not what House’s fans come to see. House is all about new work. “DaVinci” felt like a step back, not forward.

Allen is well aware of these issues. “I think we underestimated the effect of being itinerant for the first time,” he said.

The downturn has come at a rough time for House, transitioning from a company of young artists with day jobs to an arts organization able to pay employees. The company now has five full-timers on the payroll and was trying to maintain an annual budget of some $600,000. That’s not a huge amount for a professional theater, but it requires a lot of fundraising. By the end of last year, there was trouble.

Luckily for House, it has a lot of supportive friends, especially among such leading Chicago theaters as the Goodman, Steppenwolf and Lookingglass, and at Broadway in Chicago. These established companies have committed to helping House—in whose work they clearly believe—find a surer fiscal footing. Many of the people who work therein, Allen said, have written the House personal checks.

A further fundraising appeal at the end of the year was lampooned on some Web sites for its apocalyptic tone, but House rightly sucked up that mockery and pushed onward. There have been subsequent cuts—House has nixed the third show of its spring season and cut its budget by about 20 percent. And now it is risking its immediate fate on a new show called “Rose and the Rime,” which opens Sunday.

This is not entirely a gamble in the dark. “Rose and the Rime” comes with an unusual pedigree. The piece—about a young girl who must save a small Michigan town from an evil witch—emerged from a 2007 residency conducted by Allen at Hope College in Holland, Mich. Michelle Bombe, who teaches theater at Hope, had seen House’s work in Chicago and hired Allen to create something new with her students. “It was an amazing experience,” she said.

The resultant show (which I have not seen) was entered in the 2008 American College Theater Festival regional event in Milwaukee. It was something of a sensation there, winning a berth at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where it played with its student cast last spring.

“It’s rare to see a piece of theater that makes you catch your breath, hold your breath and then takes your breath away in the space of a few moments,” said Gregg Henry, who runs ACTF for the Kennedy Center and is rarely given to overstatement. “Hands down, it’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve had in the theater, university or otherwise.”

Now the show makes its professional debut in Chicago. “This is our best shot,” Allen said. “This is a culmination. This is what we’ve learned.”

ROSE AND THE RIME is set in the fictional Michigan town of Radio Falls, which has been trapped in a perpetual winter for a generation.

Snow and ice coat every tree branch and telephone wire, and the constant blizzard surrounding the town means there’s no way in or out. The last moment of heated passion brought the town it’s only remaining youth: a girl named Rose. It is up to her to save Radio Falls from the vicious curse of the Rime Witch.

But when she succeeds, Radio Falls discovers the witch’s magic coin has two sides… ROSE AND THE RIME is a modern version of The House’s favorite myth – a reminder that anything powerful enough to fulfill your dreams is powerful enough to destroy them.

Originally developed by Nathan Allen with students at Hope College, Rose and the Rime was selected by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival to perform at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC 4/17/08.

The House Theatre of Chicago was founded in 2001 by a group of friends with a unique and singular mission: to create an ensemble theatre company that would unite actor and audience through imaginative storytelling. Following a critically acclaimed run of their first show, Death and Harry Houdini, The House established itself as a vital part of the Chicago arts community with their smash hit The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, an original adaptation that ran for five months in 2002. The ensuing years brought more than a dozen world premiere productions including Cave With Man, The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz, Hatfield & McCoy and the genre-bending, epic rock-musical, The Valentine Trilogy.

In early 2007, The House spoke to a new audience when the critical and popular success of The Sparrow carried it to the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre. Also in 2007, The House gained incredible momentum with the world-premieres of the magical clown extravaganza The Magnificents, and an all new adaptation of The Nutcracker at the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, which won the “2007 Goldstar National Nutcracker Award” for the best loved performance of The Nutcracker in the United States.

After seven years of astounding accomplishments, The House has broadened its horizons, and set its sights on bringing the joy of theatre to all of Chicago. It is the mission of The House to unite Chicago in the spirit of Community through amazing feats of Storytelling.