Review: “The Jigsaw Bride” at First Folio
Heather Chrisler, Courtney Abbott, Peter Sipla (Photo: Tom McGrath)
What amount of trauma excuses a person from treating another person badly? Should one person have to give up their freedom to save the life of another? What is acceptable to demand from others?
These are questions that many have asked since we first started hearing the word “COVID-19” and our world changed in immediate and unexpected ways, ways that made our interdependence more keen than ever.
These are also the questions that are asked in Joseph Zettelmaier’s new play “The Jigsaw Bride: A Frankenstein Story” that opened its world premiere at First Folio Theatre outside of Chicago on Oct. 16. The theatre itself is housed in a large mansion in the middle of a forest preserve, a perfect spooky setting to prepare the audience for the horror story set in Victorian times in Switzerland, moving between Salenegg Castle and Vystario’s Menagerie of the Macabre.
Scenic Designer Angela Weber Miller spared no detail in creating both settings. The castle, home to Maria Von Moos, scientist, doctor, botanist is filled with plants and books, crowded with furniture and backed by sweeping stained glass windows. It is what greets the audience and immediately transports them back in time to a world where Gothic horror feels almost believable.
When the lights go down and up again, the audience meets Maria von Moos.
Courtney Abbott plays the much-wronged scientist. Based on a real person, Maria was the foremost female scientist of her day and in the play, she tells us how she should be a doctor based on her academic accomplishments, but no one will confer that degree on a woman.
The very next scene introduces perhaps the most important character, the one who undergoes the most change, often in very dramatic fashions. Maria was excavating the ruins of a castle (take a guess based on the title which one) when she discovered Justine, a woman asleep under rubble, a woman whom we soon discover is something other than human, covered in scars, possessing two mismatched eyes and with an intelligence and quickness that dwarf all those around her.
Abbott, who is skilled in maintaining the Swiss accent, creates a very human Maria, with all the richness that word entails. She is sympathetic, but flawed; intelligent, but glaringly ignorant; driven, but compromised. She is a collection of contradictions which is part of what makes her so very interesting and compelling.
What makes a person female vs. male? Abbott walks that line carefully, avoiding the stereotypes that would simplify this character. Today, Maria might be called non-binary, but in Victorian time, there was no such option.
It would also be easy to play Maria as stuck on “angry,” but Abbott thankfully avoids that. She gives her a charisma and excitement and almost a tired acceptance of things that might make others angry.
Into the castle where Maria and Justine are getting to know each other comes the owner of a traveling circus, a “menagerie of the macabre.” Justine quickly unmasks him as a fraud and can see through all his sales pitches.
Peter Sipla creates a sociopathic ringmaster unbothered by moral questions, interested only in profit and manipulation. He thrives on believing the worst of humanity, but Sipla ensures that he too has layers of complexity, that he has a touch of generosity, an ability to care even if he tries to suppress it.
Heather Chrisler, an artistic associate at First Folio Theatre, takes on the most complex role, that of the “creature,” of Justine. Justine starts out fearful, almost childlike, but Chrisler ensures she is commanding, ensures that the audience instantly asks questions about who and what she is.
There is a great deal of thoughtfulness put into Chrisler’s performance, strong choices made that take Justine on a journey of discovery—not just of herself, but of the world she inhabits. Chrisler lays the groundwork with the way she portrays Justine’s personality so that the audience might believe the transformation that occurs.
The chemistry between Chrisler and Abbott bubbles, leaving the audience wanting to see more of their interactions, more of who they become to each other. There is never a moment’s hesitation between the exchanges these two have. Their timing and connection allow for a wide range of responses from laughter to gasps to horror.
It helps that Zettelmaier gives them a lot to work with. Neither of these two women should be underestimated nor should one make assumptions about them. They are always more than they seem, they are always deeply motivated with compelling reasons for their choices. They have scintillating dialog that makes them continually interesting.
There is a moment where one can get so invested in these characters and what they are discovering that one almost gets angry at the playwright for the direction he sends them in. It’s easy to argue against the choice one of them makes at first, except that by the surprising end, there is a certain satisfaction.
Director Hayley Rice leads the talented trio of actors, making sure that the script is given its due. There is room for not just the emotions and the humor, but for complicated questions of ethics, of philosophy and of what it means to be human. Rice’s vision for this gothic horror is carried out consistently by both her artists and her technical staff. At no point does it feel like there is compromise.
Rachel Lambert creates costumes that surpass simple functionality or historic accuracy. They speak to each character’s personality, they provide visual cues of changes and development, they further the story in both subtle and overt manners.
Sarah Riffle expertly lights the stage in ways that contribute to the drama and the suspense without being intrusive. Wendy Ann must have connections that she had to sell her soul for to obtain the wealth of props that are necessary to tell the story of “The Jigsaw Bride.” People who design props don’t often get the credit they deserve and it would be hard to give Ann too much credit for what she did with this production.
Christopher Kriz, the production staff’s token male, created moody original music and sound, ones that helped to place the show firmly in its time and setting.
“The Jigsaw Bride” presents so many conundrums in ways that provide no easy answers. Who is right? Who is wrong? What happens when needs clash? While the debates can get heated, First Folio’s production of this horror take on Frankenstein’s Bride is far more entertaining than any Facebook fight and much worth a trip out to Mayslake Hall before the show closes on Nov. 14.