Downers Grove South grad takes on physically demanding Greek legend
The last time I spoke with Anthony Fleming he was preparing to play the Gentleman Caller in a production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie." That was a little more than a year ago. Now the 1996 graduate of Downers Grove South High School is starring in a much more demanding role as one of only six cast members in David Catlin's highly athletic retelling of the Icarus legend at Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago.
"In 'The Glass Menagerie' I sat on the couch, sat at a table," Fleming says. "In 'Icarus' there is lots of movement, fight scenes, circus acts."
Fleming is no stranger to intensely physical shows. As a cast member in "Lookingglass Alice" he was used to lots of high-energy acrobatics, including one scene that required him to do a standing flip.
But the folks at Lookingglass always challenge themselves every time they mount a new show.
"Everyone knows the story of the boy who flies too close to the sun," Fleming says. "But when you dig a little deeper you learn about his father, Daedalus, who was a great inventor and architect, and about the stories that surrounded these two."
Daedalus and Icarus, for example, play a role in the story of King Minos and his monster-child, the Minotaur. The Minotaur, you may remember, was hidden in the center of a labyrinth, where the evil King Minos sent young men and women to be killed. Daedalus designed and built the labyrinth.
The Daedalus and Icarus story also involves the great Greek hero Theseus. "He was one of the first Greek heroes," Fleming says. It is Theseus who kills the Minotaur and saves himself and the beautiful Ariadne.
"Lookingglass was commissioned by the Getty Villa Malibu (a branch of the Getty Museum) to do an adaptation and staged reading of 'Icarus,'" Fleming says.
Fleming, who is an artistic associate with the company, was invited to be part of that first production. As in many Lookingglass adaptations, each actor is asked to play many parts. He played King Minos and Theseus, as well as a number of smaller roles.
"They were expecting just music stands on stage," Fleming says. "But we had a lot of choreography and movement."
The Getty production took place in May 2008 and was a great success. So much so that David Catlin, who adapted and directed the piece, and the rest of the Lookingglass ensemble, decided they wanted to do a full version at their home base in Chicago. Fleming was invited to return to the show.
"This may be the most physical show I have ever been in," he says.
"There is a lot of movement, lots of circus choreography (and acrobatics). There are a lot of flight sequences some on wires, some on silks, and," Fleming says vaguely, trying not to give away surprises, "some other ways of getting people in the air. There are only six of us in the show. We play all of the characters. All our costume changes are made on stage. It is all kind of amazing."
• "Icarus" runs through Jan. 24, 2010, at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. For tickets call the Lookingglass Theatre box office at (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.