**** Recommended Writers Theatre’s production of Frida…A Self Portrait, is a stunning one-woman show written by and starring Vanessa Severo, directed by Joanie Schultz. Frida Kahlo was a complex woman who lived large. Kudos to Severo, I can’t even imagine how difficult the writing process must have been. It was a truly fascinating performance. 4 Spotlights
Before the performance, I thought Jacqueline Penrod’s set, a bare stage with a giant mirror (reflecting down) suspended overheard, was littered with rags until Severo entered and suddenly, those rags turned into clothes hanging on four clotheslines.
Those clothes were all the props Severo needed to tell her story – and it was her story too. She stood in front of a hanging pillow, pulled a hanging comforter over herself and she became Frida Kahlo suffering from polio as a child.
Later in the story, when Kahlo was hospitalized as a teen with severe injuries and multiple broken bones she suffered in a bus crash as a teenager, Severo chose to recreate an episode in which a doctor treated her like an exhibit, not a person, as he explained her injuries and their long-term results to his medical students.
When she talked about her painting while she was confined to her bed, she posed behind a picture frame.
Somewhere along the line, Severo, who already wore her hair up and braided in Frida’s unique style, pulled a skirt and blouse from the line. She donned this traditional outfit, added several red roses to her hair, transforming herself into the public Frida.
She danced with a man’s suit representing her husband Diego Rivera. When she talked about her miscarriages, she pulled tiny gowns off the line and threw them offstage.
Frida…A Self Portrait runs through February 23rd at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. Parking is free in the Metra station lot across Green Bay Road. Running time is one hour, 15 minutes, no intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 3:00 (February 19th only) & 7:30 pm; Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 3:00 & 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets start at $35. FYI (847) 242-6000 or www.writerstheatre.org