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Stupid Kids
The annual auto show may be under way at McCormick Place, but forget the latest concept Prius. The hottest, most forward-thinking hybrid in town is now on display at the Center on Halsted. Alchemists Metzgar and Carney have infused Russell’s ’80s-teen satire with an alternative-fuel boost from modern-day high schoolers, and the end product thrums with horsepower and heart.
Russell’s fantasy follows four suburban stereotypes: Queer outcasts Neechee and Kimberly, uneasy cheer queen Judy and new stud in town Jim, like so many high schoolers, are acting the roles they think they’re supposed to play. Spouting plasticized dialogue and darting from one awkward, deeply felt emotion to the next, the foursome comes across like a John Hughes movie as written by Charles Busch. And yet the ridiculousness rings true; Russell’s heightened surreality evokes the perceived reality so many feel at that age, where every class period seems to hold life-or-death decisions.
The production’s masterstroke is the addition of an out-and-proud “shadow cast” from the About Face Youth Theatre. The four 2009 queer kids observe the 1989 ones, interjecting commentary via between-scenes Facebook videos or concurrent text messages, lending the play a sort of Neo-Futurist playing-ourselves heft. This contemporary Greek chorus extols the virtues of After Ellen openness while reinforcing the everlasting pop-cult touchstones of youth; the pro cast (especially the self-aware spark plugs Patrick Andrews and Tony Clarno) gives Russell’s script a fizzy, punk-rock power. Given a gorgeous, hyperactively fluid staging, it’s tempting to call Stupid Kids 2.0 a sign of the Metzgar era as a new paradigm for About Face.
