Loyola

Whippet good: delivering brilliant comedic satire

Ross Hersemann

Issue date: 11/15/06 Section: Diversions

Combine the antics of two young singles hopelessly neurotic in the dating world, a prominent lawyer who thinks he's a dog and a crazy doctor who may need therapy himself, and you'll be prepared for "Transference," a comedy at the Mercury Theatre.

Directed by Jeff Lee, this witty comedy had the audience roaring in their seats with side -splitting laughter. The story follows Dr. Levine (Fredric Stone), a Chicago therapist who boasts his new form of treatment will cure patients in one session, if the treatment doesn't land the therapist in the loony bin first. Utilizing costumes and hand puppets, the doctor tricks the patients into confronting their inner demons and letting their skeletons out of the closet.

The characters of "Transference": include Dr Levine and his patients Jack Swartz (Ed Kross) and Harold Feldman (Dev Kennedy).

Dr. Levine is frustrated that the academic community will not recognize his new style of therapy. His use of puppets and following his patients around in their daily lives has labeled him as a quack. He is determined to help his patients with his new treatment and earn the respect of his peers.

Jack has been in therapy for fourteen years and has only had three happy days. He is also a novice of the dating world and is very paranoid that he has not fallen in love yet at 30 years old.

Gay Chicago Magazine

Transference

reviewed by Scotty Zacher

Harold is a prominent lawyer about to become an appointed judge. The only problem is that he is now convinced that he is a whippet; the second fastest dog alive.

The comedy of "Transference" is extremely relatable to both young and old audiences. College students can relate to the accurate portrayals of the awkwardness of first dates just as older adults can sympathize with characters under the strenuous pressure of supporting a family. The relatable nature of the characters had the audience applauding and whistling for more.

"It isn't often you hear a crowd laugh continuously for an hour and a half," director Jeff Lee said. "I was thrilled to see it all come to life." It was a dream come true. I'm confident it will even get better as the show goes on."

Lee's sentiments may very well be realized as the cast with their charismatic performances share his enthusiasm.

"Lee is a very approachable director," Ed Kross (Jack Schwartz) said. "The words and directions may be on the page, but he leaves us room for our interpretation. Anytime you draw from personal experience, it makes the delivery more believable."

Audiences will appreciate and relate to "Transference" and its commentary on the little things we take so seriously. This satire and its characters will make the audience think not only "I thought I had problems," but also "It's funny because it's true!"

"Transference" runs almost every day through Dec. 31 at the Mecury Theatre on 3745 N. Southport Ave. Ticket prices range from $39.50-$46.50. For more information, go to metromix.com.

4 / 5 STARS

On the surface, Lee Scheier does not seem to be cut from the same mold as many Chicago playwrights. Being that she specializes in medical and legal writing, who knew that she would possess such a gift in creating zany characters with dialogue ripe for insane embellishments? The talented director, Jeff Lee, throws his hat into the ring, corralling the spastic script into a herdable endeavor. Add into the mix one of the most talented ensembles to grace the Chicago stage in recent memory, and “Transference” is one heck of a show. The actors are so energetic and possess such a sublime sense of timing that the audience is easily sucked into this comedic romp.

“Transference” tells the collective story of a seemingly nut-job psychiatrist, Dr. Sidney Levine, and his dealings with two of his patients. The play opens with a hilarious presentation given by Dr. Levine to the New York Psychiatric Society, explaining his new high-speed psychoanalytic technique called Transference where, with the aid of puppets representing the parents of the patients, he can cure even the craziest patient in a single 45-minute session. Veteran Chicago actor Frederic Stone really sinks his theatrical chops into the part of this whacky doctor with great success.

Patient One is the pitifully shy Jack Schwartz, deftly played by Ed Kross, who endlessly laments about the fact that he’s never had a girlfriend and ends the session telling the doctor about Annie O’Reilly (Bethany Caputo), a girl he recently met at a party who he would like to date but is too scared to call. Bethany Caputo pulls off the best performance of the evening, milking every one of her lines for all it’s worth.

Patient Two is Harold Feldman (Dev Kennedy), a recently nominated federal judge who suddenly confesses to his wife, Miriam (Diane Dorsey), that instead of being a judge, he’d rather be a dog, a pedigreed whippet to be exact, a smaller version of a greyhound. Dev Kennedy takes on this craziest of scenarios with perfect gusto, complete with yappy barking and the eager fetching of a chew toy. Wife Miriam desperately drags husband Harold (literally, with a leash) to Dr. Levine in hopes that the psychiatrist can cure him of his whippet-envy before he is called into his interview for the approval of his judgeship.

The sound and light designs created by Caryn Weglarz-Klein, Richard Morwood, Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen are stellar, especially the cumulative use of a wonderful swooshing noise mixed with lighting cues used at the beginning of each scene.

There are a few glitches in “Transference” that hopefully can be ironed out during this world premiere run. The ending of the first act is shaky, with Patient One, Jack Schwartz, fainting on a table in a restaurant. Even in such a farcical script, this seems to come out of nowhere, as we are not told that Schwartz suffers from this fainting malady when experiencing great anxiousness. Along with this, the set changes, though acceptably carried out by a four-member crew cleverly dressed in white psyche-ward lab coats, are way too long and clunky, deflating the script’s forward-moving energy as the audience is too-often forced to impatiently wait for the next scene.

Altogether, though, “Transference” promises a great night out, filled with tons of laughter and fun for all. (****)