One of the great strengths of the Neo-Futurists, who have been operating in Chicago for a remarkable 13 years now, is that they have never confined themselves to a single aesthetic or been unduly dominated by the creative vision of a single individual.
Sure, this troupe is best known for the late-night show “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” (in which 30 plays are performed in 60 minutes), and founder Greg Allen has long played a dominant role. But there are lots of different kinds of Neo-Futurism–mostly depending on who is doing the writing.
Connor Kalista and Rachel Claff write loving theatrical dissertations on the visual arts; Dave Kodeski prefers personal revelation; the pseudonymous ian pierce is the resident linguistic absurdist; Allen likes to combine metatheater and comedy. And Sean Benjamin, the author of the current mainstage attraction, is obsessed with undermining traditional dramatic structure.
Another Neo-Futurist, Greg Kotis, who wrote book and lyrics for the new Broadway show “Urinetown,” has turned out to be the first to hit the big leagues. And if this cult New York show continues to do well, they’ll soon be talking about Neo-Futurists alumni in the same way they talk about performers who cut their teeth at Second City.
It will be some much-deserved attention for a theater company that has long eschewed cheap commercialism in favor of providing intellectual and, on a good day, metaphysical provocation for the mainly young audience that finds its way to the little theater above a funeral parlor.
Although smart, superbly performed and not without its intriguing aspects, “Missing Parts” is not one of this group’s strongest mainstage shows. In essence, the action consists of four performers in vaudeville-type garb engaged in some strange physical task involving tools and a box. As they work (with stylized movement breaks), the black-and-white characters find themselves answering questions that have not yet been posed, giving away the end of the show, starting over, and other such themes related to the phenomenon of time.
The main problem is the absurdist linking of Laurel-and-Hardy antics to existential angst has been hackneyed since “Waiting for Godot,” and it now carries little weight. For that reason and others (such as a surfeit of blackouts and a cool demeanor), Benjamin’s piece feels too derivative to fully arrest with its themes.
Still, the cast of Andy Bayiates, Noelle Krimm, Steve Mosqueda and Benjamin are all sharp and disciplined. And the 70-minute “Missing Parts” makes you think about the agonies of being trapped in a single era–without taking too much of your time to make its point.
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“Missing Parts” continues at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., through Oct. 13; $8- $12.
