Red Theater is currently presenting the world premiere of DOGS by Hanna Kime, tautly directed by Becca Holloway through November 24, 2024, at The Edge Theater, 1133 W. Catalpa, Chicago. It’s a clever, hilarious romp as well as a serious inquiry into the nature of competition. 5 women indulge in a quintet of gluttony- they are participating in a hotdog eating contest- no buns. In between rounds, they vent about their attitude, comfort or confront each other, and bemoan/defend their lot.
This play is a must-see! It’s extremely well-written, well-staged, well-acted and too funny!
The spot-on character studies include ONE, acted by Elisabeth Del Toro, presented as but not presumed innocent, driven to excel. Like an ancient Roman or modern bulimic, the winner and still champion- the very best gorger- she vomits into a bucket after her winning efforts- except at the end, when she vomits during her performance, yet keeps going. And THE HOST, acted by Julian “joolz” Stroop, is a larger-than-life carnival barker and strangely sinister wry commentator.
Stephanie Shum, as TWO, Allyce Carryn Torres as THREE, Tatiana Pavela as FOUR, and Isabella Moran del Cueto as FIVE, each fully inhabit their roles, giving us personalities that are believable and necessary.
Some of the issues the ladies wrangle: that their eyes are bigger than their stomach-they just can’t eat enough; that men have bigger stomachs-they can eat more; that hotdogs are toxic- they cannot stop eating them; that the genre is ridiculous-they love it anyway. And the overriding truth? You can’t win if you’re not in!
In vibrant, iconoclastic costumes by Madeline Felauer, Shum is particularly fetching in a red velvet frankfurter costume with a furry conehead, and Stroop glistens in a sparkly outlined blue suit, the characters go at each other- compliments to fight/intimacy designer Jamie Macpherson. All the moves make sense, and the facial expressions are über expressive, complementing the rollicking physical comedy.
Hanna Kime is a Chicago-based playwright and screenwriter whose full-length work has been presented at or developed with Goodman Theatre, Berkeley Rep, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Steep Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, the New Coordinates, UP Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre and Sideshow Theatre. A two-time O’Neill Finalist, Kime was the winner of OKC Rep’s New Voices Contest, and has been named a semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ashland New Play Festival, and Premiere Stages Play Festival. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago in English and Gender and Sexuality Studies. Kime also works as a freelance dramaturg and teaching artist.
Red Theater’s mission is to make theater by putting people first. Founded in 2013, Red’s productions have included 10 Chicago premieres and 8 world premieres. Red Theater presents work derived from its core values of radical transparency, community care, and meaningful experience. Red gives access to theater to anyone who wants it, with an intentional focus on those restricted by financial and physical disability. Kudos to Artistic Directors Clare Brennan and Wyatt Kent.
All photos by Faith Decker
For information and tickets, go to www.redtheater.org
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