City Lit Theater: Glassheart Review
Mark Pracht and Kat Evans
City Lit Theater Presents GLASSHEART Review - The Beast Moves to Chicago
TLDR: Glassheart is a modern retelling of Beauty and The Beast that keeps the main characters but gives them new identities and personalities. We get magic and surrealism and asked some existential questions rather than focus on building a love story.
Mark Pracht
City Lit Travels from France to Chicago
In the darkened theater, we hear sobs coming from the floor. We hear the sound of a door banging open and see a shadowy figure carrying many bags of luggage. Whoever this is drops the bags on the ground and reaches up to pull a cord near their head. A bulb on top of her head lights up and then the stage is flooded with light.
It’s a pretty normal looking apartment to us Chicagoans. A large central living room with three pushed out windows overlooking the city. A door leading off to a bedroom and another off to the kitchen. It looks comfortable enough with a lounger couch, a cushy chair, and multiple bookcases overflowing with books. The dark green walls are dotted with gold stars giving it an enchanting feel.
Then we look at these two characters. One a manly type figure with mountains of curly hair on top of his head still lies on the floor sobbing while clutching a rose plant. And the other we find has turned her head on because she is in fact an enchanted lamp soon to be named Only. She smiles brightly and claims the apartment is OK! She has moved herself and The Beast from France to Chicago hoping to break the curse.
Kat Evans and Mark Pracht
Magical Realism and Existentialism
Beauty and The Beast has always been a fairytale with magic spells, enchantments, and witches. In Glassheart, we still get that touch of magic without it being the central focus. The Witch offers some chocolates with different abilities to Only, tempting her that they might break the spell. Only dons a hat to look like Aiofe so her job won’t know she’s missing. Aiofe tries to exit out a door but comes whooshing back, the spell preventing her from leaving.
We feel grounded in knowing the usual fairytale, but playwright Reina Hardy’s script and dialogue feels like poetry and philosophy. Is Aiofe finding herself in this new city? Or is she still just running from something? Is The Beast actually a beast? Or is he simply someone who is different and hard to understand? What happens when Only thinks deeper about if her purpose is more than just being a servant to The Beast? Glassheart blends these deeper thoughts and magic with real life touches that make it feel like this could be happening in the apartment above us right here and now.
Elaine Carlson and Kat Evans
Finding Levity In The Deep
Though they’re asking these heavy questions about loving someone or thinking about your heart’s true desire, the cast makes sure to not get bogged down and bring the mood too serious. They find moments of levity and hit comedic bits, jokes, and a touch of physical slapstick comedy with well timed beats.
Mark Pracht as The Beast awkwardly stammers in front of Aiofe, claiming no, he’s not allergic to her cat because he has a handkerchief to help with the sneezing. He picks Only up as they argue about who should answer the door and stands frozen, Only tossed over his shoulder.
When Elaine Carlson enters the apartment as the building’s owner welcoming her new tenants, she gives off a mystical and witchy air, almost as if she could be a witch herself. She casually drops that she finds children delicious as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.
Cailyn Murray goes on a diatribe about her missing cat and exclaims how much she loves him and then affectionately calls him a flat-faced bastard.
Kat Evans delights us as the optimistic Only. She finds joy in her purpose of serving The Beast and finds ways to bring him and Aiofe closer together. She’s charming and easily convinces Aiofe she should stay. She coaxes The Beast out of his shell to interact with this potential love interest. She’s the glue that holds everyone together.
Cailyn Murray and Kat Evans
The After Party Thoughts
Glassheart is such an interesting retelling of Beauty and The Beast because it’s the same, but then not at all the same at the same time. We recognize the characters from the original fairytale, but they’re completely different here and we get to unpack many different layers of each of these characters.
For those that want to keep Beauty and The Beast as the happily ever after Disney version, then this might not be the best version for you. However, if you’re intrigued by a retelling that explores deeper questions and set in a modern day world, Glassheart would be a good fit for you.
RECOMMENDED
Kat Evans
When
Now through February 23, 2025
Where
Edgewater Presbyterian Church
1020 W. Bryn Mawr
Chicago, IL 60660
Runtime: 2hrs, including a 10 minute intermission
Tickets
$12+
Tickets can be purchased through the City Lit Theater website
Photos
Steve Graue
CAST
Elaine Carlson (The Witch)
Kat Evans (Only)
Cailyn Murray (Aiofe)
Mark Pracht (The Beast)
CREATIVE
Reina Hardy (Playwright)
Brian Pastor (Director)
Jeremiah Barr (Scenic Design)
Liz Cooper (Lighting Design)
Petter Wahlbäck (Sound Design and Original Music)
Clare McKellaston (Costume Design)
Paul Chakrin (Violence Design)
Courtney Abbott (Intimacy Coordinator)
Meghan Norine McGrath (Props Design)
Hazel Marie Flowers-McCabe (Stage Manager)