The programtitled “Kill the Rich! Kill thePoor!”consists of three short plays featuring fresh local actors. Included inthe diverse ensemble are Alex Grindeland, Laura Sedlak, Marty McNamee, LindseyGagliano and Kelly Doherty. Grindeland is a comedian and actor who hasdemonstrated considerable talent. Sedlak directed a couple of shows last year,including Youngblood Theatre’s production of David’s Redhaired Death. It’ll be interesting to see her onstagethis time. And McNamee has appeared in numerous Skylight Opera Theatreproductions over the past few years.
The cast is headed by director Joe Foti IV. Workingwith a cast of actors with wide-ranging stage experience sounds like aninteresting challenge for Foti.
“We have some clashing ideologies that are making ita challenge to find a common language for the play,” he says.
The competing perspectives in the cast, which Fotiand company will bring into a cohesive stage presentation, should make for aninteresting performance. This is a cast unafraid of making bold decisions withthe text, and that kind of vitality should make BITE’s first trip to the stagea memorable one.
The three stories explore three distinct kinds ofhuman connection. Kraigslist is abouta big city politician and his wife who steal a child when they can’t produceone of their own. It sounds like a made-for-TV movie, but given the fact thatthe short has been accepted into the Chicago Fringe Festival, there must besome depth to the story. The ambitiously titled Titanic 2 is the story of a woman who gives birth to an“unconventional baby” in a downtown warehouse. The other short in the programis Waiting for Paul, a storyexploring the struggles of newlyweds.
BITE Theatre’s “Kill the Rich! Kill the Poor!” runsMarch 18-27 at the Off-Broadway Theatre, 342 N. Water St.
