The Fourth Walsh

The Goodman Theatre presents the World Premiere of The 7 Fingers’ THE ATTIC: THINGS I’VE SEEN WHILE LYING ON MY BACK.

Childhood. Trapeze. Lover. Miscarriage. Birth. A Fall. Cancer. A woman remembers her life from her bed at pivotal moments. From dreaming of swinging from the rafters to actually floating-through-the-air as an aerialist, the Tony Award-nominated former trapezist Shana Carroll reimagines her story laying on her back. Carroll, the co-founding Artistic Director of The 7 Fingers, debuts her memoir in her favorite storytelling genre: a circus-theatre-dance-musical-hybrid.

As playwright, director, and choreographer, Carroll shares intimate snippets of her existence. Her past unfolds like a fever dream with equal parts playful whimsy and death-defying angst. Chicago-based actor Tyler Meredith plays Carroll. As The 7 Fingers troupe twirl, dive and juggle around her, the sublime Tyler moves thru Carroll’s life as in a trance. She continually utters the words ‘Things I’ve seen while lying on my back.’ Her warm, resonant voice gives every line extra weight. She also punctuates scenes with sultry singing. Despite the escapades all around, Tyler grounds the show in reality until she unexpectedly grabs a bar and is lifted into the air. THE ATTIC is full of astonishing moments like these of beauty and peril.          

The 7 Fingers troupe (Fran Alvarez, Melvin Diggs, Eduardo De Azevedo Grillo, Kalani June, Anna Kichtchenko, Nancy Luna, Santiago Rivera Laugerud, Alexandra Royer, and Lucy Tan) are fr#cking amazing! Their athleticism, synchronicity and trust is mind-blowing. Luna is often thrown over, under and up and is miraculously caught. Several feet above ground, Kichtchenko elegantly tangles herself up in silks and then unravels while plummeting to the ground. Tan juggles hoops in a frenzy of chaos illustrating a cancer diagnosis. She then is lifted through the stilled hoops as a makeshift MRI.

In another unforgettable scene, a movement is performed on the tilted bed as hands blindly grab the patient. Under Carroll’s masterful orchestration, all the feats perfectly assimilate into the story. It’s not a play with circus acts, it’s a life of spectacle. When Tyler talks about Carroll’s twenty-foot fall during a performance, the ensemble join in with an inspirational teachable moment. They all agree to truly be successful, they first needed to learn how to fall. Laugerud amusingly insists as a juggler he is more concerned about ‘dropping’ than ‘falling.’ The organic interaction feels like a real glimpse behind the curtain under the Big Top.       

Adding imagery to the storytelling, Projection Designer Johnny Ranger fills the backdrop with waves lapping on the beach, a montage of polaroid faces and the troupe being filmed in real time. At one point, one of the ensemble chases another through the audience with a handheld camera. Their dance and antics is captured on the screen. By the time they make it back to the stage, cast and select audience members mingle on the floor looking up at an aerialist. The camera projection allows the rest of the audience to observe the action also while ‘lying on our back.’ It’s so cool and imaginative!!            

Thank you, Carroll, for sharing your life thru your artistry. I loved every moment of it. THE ATTIC leaves Chicago for Quebec this fall and Paris next Spring. This one-of-a-kind pageantry needs to be experienced in a theatre. Get a ticket NOW!   

Running Time: Two hours and fifteen minutes includes an intermission

Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn

Written, directed and choreographed by Shana Carroll

Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays at 7:30pm

Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays at 2pm

Thru October 4

For more information or tickets

Production photos byTodd Rosenberg

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