The Voodoo Chalk Circle
by Keith Griffith
*RECOMMENDED*
The afterbirth is all that remains of Bertolt Brecht in Chelsea Marcantel’s new, strikingly original adaptation of his 1948 play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Marcantel’s lyrical dialogue and sweeping, moody vision more than make up for the awkward plot holes that crop up as she moves Brecht’s story from Soviet Georgia to post-hurricane New Orleans, where a young housekeeper named Grusha reluctantly takes charge of her boss’s infant son. In Tim Speicher’s staging for the State Theatre of Chicago, a subtle yet stunning array of puppetry, projection, movement, and music propel the audience through a dreamscape of fear and desire, where old ways and ancient spirits emerge to replace a decimated society.
