Park Ridge resident Charles Grippo has a special affinity for the works of playwright James Sherman. That’s why his Grippo Stage Company is producing the world premiere of Sherman’s “Chagall in School,” the third Sherman play that Grippo has produced. The show runs from Aug. 26-Oct. 9 at Chicago’s Theater Wit.
“I think he’s an absolute genius,” Grippo said of Sherman. “He’s one of the most incredible playwrights we’ve ever had in Chicago. The stories and themes are so universal anybody can relate to them. And the dialogue and his characters are just fantastic.”
Grippo admitted that he didn’t know much about Marc Chagall, the Russian Jewish artist who is the focus of “Chagall in School,” except that he was an impressionist painter, until he read Sherman’s play.
“I had no idea about this aspect of his life and the Russian Revolution,” he admitted. “I thought, ‘This is an incredible story and a story that needs to be told,'” Grippo said.
The producer believes it is a universal story. “It is about an artist trying to make their art and follow their passion and how things can get in the way,” Grippo said. “We all have dreams and passions that we want to do in our lives and sometimes there are obstacles and we have to battle trying to get past them.”
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World premieres can be stress-inducing because the script is often being changed throughout the rehearsal process. Playwright Sherman is attending all the rehearsals and has been rewriting throughout. That hasn’t affected his relationship with Grippo, who jokingly declared, “So far we haven’t killed each other.”
It may help that Grippo hasn’t attended many rehearsals. “There’s an awful lot of work for a producer to do behind the scenes,” Grippo explained. That involves hiring people for the many tasks involved in producing a work, working on ticket sales, and many other chores.
One important task that playwright Sherman handled was choosing the director—Georgette Verdin.
Grippo is pleased with that decision. “I’m so proud of her and so happy she’s directing our show,” he said.
“James Sherman was familiar with my directing work,” Verdin said. Sherman sent Verdin the script, which she said she found intriguing, particularly because of “the conversations the piece was having about artistic integrity and the role of art during societal and political upheavals,” she said.
The producer and playwright are defining the show as a comedy but there’s so much more than that, the director asserted.
“It’s nice to be stretching the comedy muscles again—especially in this moment,” she said.
Verdin also admitted that she didn’t know much about Chagall when she took on this project but she has done an enormous amount of research to prepare to direct this show. That included reading a book based on an exhibit about Chagall that was staged in 2018 at the Jewish Museum as well as Chagall’s memoir, “My Life,” and a biography of Chagall.
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“But I’ve also enjoyed hopping on YouTube and listening to art historians’ lectures on Chagall,” the director said.
Verdin’s research made her extremely impressed by Chagall. “He really stayed true to himself throughout the years,” she said. “He remained committed to his subjects and his own style and did not feel the need to conform to any particular artistic movement.”
“Chagall in School” addresses that issue.
“James (Sherman) has done such a great job of basing the play in a lot of historical accuracy,” Verdin reported. “But it is a made-up story so he has had to take some creative license.”
The director thinks this is the right time for a show like “Chagall in School.”
“It’s a really interesting time to be watching a piece about artists in Russia, given everything that’s happening, giving us some insight into a time in history that was also characterized by lots of upheaval, and what that was like for artists creating inside of Russia,” Verdin said.
Verdin concluded that the show “deals with some pretty heavy themes. And yet we do it with humor and comedy. That right now is going to feel really good for people.”
For more information about “Chagall in School,” visit grippostagecompany.com.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
