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DOGS at Red Theater is a play that pits five women against each other in a competitive eating contest. Set at a Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island some time in the near future. DOGS is a funny, fast-moving and only slightly disgusting eating competition.. If you enjoy seeing people stuff their faces with food, then this play is for you.
The competitions described in the script by Chicago playwright Hanna Kime are well choreographed by director Becca Holloway, who moves the parallel storylines along briskly. And we should point out that the hot-dog eating is done with gestures and not actual food, so it's not as bad as the real thing.
The Host, played by Julian “Joolz” Stroop, is decked out in sparkly baby blue and plays the true carnival barker. He welcomes us to the contest, encourages our spirited appreciation of the competitors, and cheers them on as he counts off the dogs consumed. The play opens with the five competitors entering and performing an energetic dance routine before the competition begins.
The play consists mostly of successive contests, most of which are won by Naomi (Elisabeth Del Toro), who holds the world record for eating 40 dogs and recently overtook the earlier champion, Val (Stephanie Shum), who’s now suffering from a TMJ problem. Naomi deals with her hot-dog consumption by vomiting repeatedly into a red bucket (the sound is realistic). The other participants are Carol (Tatiana Pavela) a veteran of these contests; Trish (Allyce Carryn Torres), who provides us with a history of the hot dog and its contents; and Paige (Isabella Moran del Cueto), an enthusiastic newcomer.
Now it may be that DOGS, a world premiere by playwright Kime, is meant to emphasize women’s need to be more powerful and competitive in the marketplaces—business, sports, arts or nonprofits—in which they want to succeed. And the story works as a pure power story. In a program note, director Holloway compares competitive eaters to theater makers. Each role requires forcing mind and body to extremes and each is detrimental to the health.
Scenic design is by Hunter Cole with props by Chas Mathieu. Jack Goodman handles lighting design; sound design is by Sebby Woldt. Madeleine Felauer is costume designer; her creations include an astonishing frankfurter suit worn by one of the competitors. Ella Johnson is stage manager.
DOGS by Red Theater continues at the Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa, through November 24. Running time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $30; buy them at https://redtheater.org/dogs.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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