'Vanished' holds audience with soap-opera intrigue
The premise of "Babes With Blades," a Chicago theater company that showcases women in combat, sounds intriguing enough to promise -- at a minimum -- something out of the ordinary.
The company's latest production, Chicago playwright Barbara Lhota's "Los Desaparecidos (The Vanished)" delivers not only rough-and-tumble entertainment, but enough intrigue and romance to rivet the most avid soap opera fans -- in a good way.
With clever, witty dialogue and vigorous swordplay that includes rapiers, knives, daggers and shields, the play makes for a thoroughly enjoyable good time.
One complaint -- the play's 14 scenes are too many for the relatively small stage. Each scene change, however fast and crafty, halts the narrative flow, even if scenic designer Anders Jacobs does a good job with a simple but finely conceptualized design.
The plot centers around two sisters: the charming Isabel (Meghan Martinez), whose childless marriage makes tongues wag in 16th century Spain, and the "Los Desaparecidos (The Vanished)"
3 stars out of four
Location: Raven Theatre Complex (West Theatre), 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago
Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m., Sundays at 3:30 p.m., until May 12
Running time: About two hours
Tickets: $20 general, $17 students and seniors, $12 for industry members on Sundays
Parking: Small lot, street
Box office: www.babeswithblades.org or (773) 880-0016
Rating: Some adult subject matter strong-willed Diana (Stephanie Repin), a widow whose friendship with a Muslim-turned-Catholic equally clashes with the beliefs of the time.
Both women are top-notch sword fighters who were secretly trained by their late father, and both fall in love with the wrong person.
Pitted against society's narrow definition of what is "natural," the sisters have to resort to clandestine encounters and masterful deception to get what they want -- but not without first incurring the ire of a society infused with Catholic mores.
The colorful cast of characters includes a meddling mother-in-law, a husband tormented by his own demons, an extroverted and irreverent servant, and many more.
The final scenes of the play are infused with drama and emotion and a healthy dose of surprising twists and turns that made some in the audience gasp.
But, like Diana says, "Things aren't always as they seem -- especially when dealing with witches."