BARBIE THE FANTASIES
At last, a theater company that doesn’t mind causing some trouble.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Barbie the Fantasies was developed through the cast’s improvisation, then scripted by director Steven Milford and assistant director Lance Hunt. The result is eight intentionally disconnected scenes that depict Barbie (of doll fame, of course) and her cohorts in a series of ludicrous and increasingly perverse situations. Between these scenes are video interviews, mostly of people at the gay pride parade or outside of Water Tower Place, talking about their memories and fantasies of Barbie. Invariably these stories turn to sex, violence, or both, themes that run throughout the show.
This strategy is successful on several levels. It’s a charmingly obvious device in keeping with much of the humor of the show, which is anything but subtle. The interviews also take some of the burden of originality off the Rudely Elegants’ shoulders. Certainly Barbie’s look at the dark side of the American dream is nothing new in this city of Coed Prison Sluts and Lobo-a-Gogo. But by acknowledging that other people have given them the ideas for their show, the Rudely Elegants admit they’re simply recycling old material in an inventive new way. We can’t fault them for doing the same old thing because they admit it themselves. Culture this.
