Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's GREAT EXPECTATIONS opened this past weekend and the reception for this Dickens classic has been great indeed! Be sure to catch up on what others are saying about the show as well as making a trip to see Gale Childs Daly's adaptation of this classic story on our Cabot Theatre stage! We close on April 30!
Mike Fischer,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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| Cast of Great Expectations with violinist, Andrew Crowe Photo by Paul Ruffolo |
"As Pip, Josh Krause is the lone actor who plays just one character, although Pip goes through so many changes during the play – while traveling from orphaned, seven-year-old waif to chastened, 30-something man – that Krause might as well be playing several roles."
"Karen Estrada exhibits the range to play both halves of a fascinating psychological double, embodying the haughty Estella as well as the warm-hearted Biddy."
"The amazingly versatile Deborah Staples is excellent in multiple roles as real or surrogate mothers, including the tragic Miss Havisham and the hilarious Mrs. Joe, in which capacity she lords it over both Pip and her cowed blacksmith husband (Chiké Johnson)."
"In Jason Fassl’s breathtaking lighting design, we see these characters' souls at night, revealed through illuminated faces surrounded by shadow, struggling to find their way to the light."
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| Top: Josh Krause and Deborah Staples Bottom: Zach Thomas Woods Photo: Paul Ruffolo |
OnMilwaukee
Chamber's masterful "Great Expectations" exceeds every single one
"This production, under the singular direction of Molly Rhode, pays tribute to everything Dickens wrote and more."
"Joining Krause in this cast are five wonderful and well-known Milwaukee actors: Jonathan Gillard Daly (married for 35 years to the playwright), Deborah Staples, Chike Johnson, Karen Estrada and Zack Thomas Woods. Joining them from North Carolina is Andrew Crowe, a composer and actor who played the violin with a haunting grace and evocation that set the mood for so many moments."
"Each actor had moments in the sun, but watching Daly, who is well over six feet tall and north of 60 years old, play a two-year-old sliding down, time after time, on a short little slide made out of wood may well have been the funniest moment of the night. He is an actor of resplendent breadth and depth but has always had a marvelous feel for just the right kind of comedy."
"Madelyn Yee, the uber-creative properties master, designed and built a final scene with seven actors holding books in front of them, with individual white lights shining their faces out into a dark auditorium. It was a haunting example of what a intelligence and taste can do."
Dominique Paul Noth,
Urban Milwaukee
A Dickens of a Staging
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| T: Andrew Crowe M: Chike Johnson, Zach Thomas Woods, Jonathan Gillard Daly B: Deborah Staples, Josh Krause, Karen Estrada Photo: Paul Ruffolo |
"Director Molly Rhode needs only seven performers, visible stage lights and a few pieces of furniture (though we are also being fooled by scenic designer Lisa Schlenker, since the set piece is more complicated than that)."
"Madelyn Yee’s props interact with Jason Orlenko’s costume pieces in a dervish of activity. The actors are props as well – also living furniture, noise makers and page rustlers."
"Playwright/adapter Gale Childs Daly has ripped up the novel and reassembled it with mathematical expertise and Dickensian interpolations. It’s like a fascinating literate solution to the Rubik’s Cube. The cast constantly changes hats and purpose while retaining identifiable characters when needed."
"Krause keeps innocence and noble conviction alive through all the changes in age and the torrents of exposition. He has a bright open appeal in a role that demands both warp speed and quiet listening."
"Chiké Johnson brings formidable voice and characters ranging from the friendly blacksmith to the haughty suitor to the cunning street agent—a lead example of the versatility required of the whole company."
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| Josh Krause and Chike Johnson | Photo by Paul Ruffolo |
Milwaukee Magazine
A Richly Imagined "Great Expectations" at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
"Gale Childs Daly’s adaptation, written in 1993, cannily streamlines the tale in classic story-theater style, creating the world of Victorian London using simple benches and chairs as props and scenery. Rhode takes it a step further, putting the items in Dickens’s study to theatrical use."
"Rhode’s and Childs Daly’s approach puts the actors front and center, and the MCT cast builds the world of the story with energy and charm."
"Deborah Staples brings a deep voice and a deep sense of humanity to Miss Havisham, one of Dickens’s greatest creations. Like many of Dickens’s characters, she’s larger than life. But this Havisham is no mere caricature—Staples inflects each gesture with the character’s broken-hearted history."
"Chiké Johnson brings similar heart and depth to Joe Gargery, the simple blacksmith who is Pip’s most loyal friend. With a simple gesture of perfectly timed emotion, Johnson makes his goodbye to Pip one of the most heart-stopping moments of the evening."
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| Josh Krause and Deborah Staples Photo by Paul Ruffolo |
Total Theatre
Great Expectations
"Incredibly, this adaptation has but six actors (and one violinist). Daly has the actors change costumes (and characters) in the blink of an eye. Sometimes they slip into new clothing upstage, often within view of the audience. "
"Rhode also can be credited for mining the humor from Pip’s sometimes dismal, precarious situation. The laughter reaches a peak when Pip steps out to see a hilarious rendition of Hamlet (it takes “bad acting” to new heights)."
"One of the must-see performances is actor Deborah Staples as Pip’s hideous older sister (this is a compliment). She smacks the young boy about when she’s not congratulating herself on having raised him. Staples appears a moment later as the sad figure of Miss Havisham, cloaked in a faded wedding gown (just one of costume designer Jason Orlenko’s fabulous outfits)."
John Jahn,
Shepherd Express
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Exceeds "Great Expectations"
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| Jonathan Gillard Daly, Deborah Staples, Karen Estrada, Andrew Crowe and Josh Krause Photo by Paul Ruffolo |
"MCT’s current production is likewise something to cherish and celebrate, for it is well acted, amusing, touching, sprightly paced and superbly staged."
"What remarkable effort and effectiveness! Kudos to scenic designer Lisa Schlenker, stage manager Judy Martel, costume designer Jason Orlenko and lighting designer Jason Fassl for making this all come off so well. Their work—plus that of the amazing actors and the wonderful Childs Daly adaptation from which they all clearly drew inspiration—make for a truly enjoyable evening at the theater."
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