TheMASSIVE

Check out this dark, foreboding trailer for Faust. Video by Kyle Vincent Terry.

After a successful four-week stint at Stage 773, we have extended Faust’s run for four late-October engagements. Remember, this is a show K.D. Hopkins of Chicago Theater Beat calls “a sensuous and invigorating rendition of the classic tale,” referring to the choreography as “a perfect simmering of frenetic precision and carnal release,” and imploring audiences to “go see [this] exciting, arousing, heartbreaking” show.

Buy tickets here: http://boxoffice.printtixusa.com/stage773/eventcalendar

Buy tickets here or call 773.327.5252

From politicians trading their influence for donations, to would-be celebrities debasing themselves for a brief moment in the spotlight, Chicago-based production company TheMASSIVE says there is no more fitting a time than now to revisit the original tale of selling one’s soul to the Devil—Faust.

Continuing a story-based approach, TheMASSIVE’s Executive Artistic Director Kyle Vincent Terry re-imagines Wolfgang Von Goethe’s masterpiece. This new iteration, starting September 15 and closing October 9, 2011, is playing at Stage 773 at 1225 W. Belmont Ave. The production features an intense, contemporary soundtrack, as well as a revamped story drawing on concepts put forth in C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, and sees the demon Mephistopheles taking center stage as a sultry temptress.

However, it is the sexy, addictive movement crafted by Mr. Terry that weaves a world of indulgence and consequence into a universal tale of struggle between temptation and happiness.  The choreography sees bodies taking to the air with kinetic leaps and spins, as well as mangled and manipulated by the dark powers of Mephistopheles.

A cast of eclectic movers has been assembled to turn the eponymous doctor’s ill-conceived deal with The Devil into a kinetic tour-de-force.  Reprising the role of Faust is Nebi Berhane, who has performed with Dance Theater of Harlem and will be in an upcoming show with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.  Taking on the role of Mephistopheles is Sarah Keating Oates, formerly of Cerqua Rivera, who was Mr. Terry’s original choice for the character.  The onstage dynamic created by the two is hypnotic and yet invigorating, as Faust surrenders to Mephistopheles sinful influence and uses his newfound powers to indulge in the carnal ecstasies of his whim.  The other dancers in the show will be called upon to utilize multiple styles to embody multiple roles, changing characters at the drop of a hat.

This is a show as wicked as it is righteous.

During two Thursday shows, September 29 and October 6, our “super-understudy” Sunny Kallas will be performing ALL THREE lead roles (Dr. Faust, Mephistopheles, and Margaret)! We’ve dubbed these shows Sunny Thursdays, and invite you to come enjoy the madness at a discount rate of $15.

Additionally, during the second and third Fridays, Deluxe ticket purchasers will get to stay for an improvisational aftershow dubbed TheMASSIVE Beats TheHOUSE.  This bonus show sees TheMASSIVE dancers taking audience suggestions and interpreting them with movement, intermingled with vaudeville acts for a more light-hearted experience.