The Flick Chicago

The caliber of casts for the Upstairs Theater is exactly the same as the caliber of casts they get for the Downstairs Theater. Tracy Letts, Frances Guinan, William Peterson, Alana Arenas, Sally Muprhy, John Mahoney, Amy Morton, Rondi Reed, Jeff Perry, and K. Todd Freeman have all performed in plays Upstairs... and that's just listing ensemble members.

That said, this cast is not particularly impressive.

Danny McCarthy and Travis Turner have turned in really terrific performances and really mediocre performances. If you're interested in seeing the play I don't think they'd ruin it for you.

Caroline Neff is absolutely one of the most exciting young actresses working in Chicago. I'm selfishly glad she wasn't gobbled up by Broadway while recently staring in Airline Highway.

Just based on the cast, it's hard to imagine this being wham-bam amazing... but I also can't imagine it being worse than "that was pretty good."

I don't think it's an odd comment at all... but since it's fun to discuss things on the internet I will explain.

I've avoided reading the play because I'm looking forward to this production, so I have no sense as to the kind of role Caroline Neff has. If the play is carried on her shoulders, then it'll probably be a not to be missed situation. As I have not read much talk about the actress in the off-broadway production (just general praise for the play and the ensemble), I made the assumption (perhaps foolishly!) that it wasn't a role for the ages.

There's a fourth actor in the play who is routinely terrible. Not so terrible that they'd ruin the play, but terrible enough that the play will likely be kept grounded when it should blast off into the stratosphere. I was trying to maintain a generally positive tone, so I didn't mention this fourth performer in my post. Additionally, I mentioned the two other performers have the potential to be terrific but they are often not.

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 10:28 AM

Thanks for all the thoughts! Given the comments regarding Caroline Neff, I'll probably check it out. I always like to see great local performers on the rise, so even if the show isn't great, if she's one of Chicago's best young actresses, I'd like to check her out.

Whilst the play is long, I found it amusing, sad and ultimately tragic. For those unaware, of the demise of the projectionist. Imagine whatever you do for a living. Then imagine how it might feel when that job disappears, across the world in the space of 3 or 4 years. This was the reality of thousands of projectionists around the world. While digitalisation was a great technological advancement. It destroyed the lives of many talented people and sadly, almost no one noticed.