One family manages to survive it all in Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth. Stage Center’s latest production was directed by Dan Wirth and produced by Anna Antaramian. This play takes us through three acts in the strange life of the Antrobus family.
Although the play is a little confusing at the beginning, this is because of the complexity of the script, not through any fault of the production. The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic environment with the added absurdity of dinosaurs and wooly mammoths as pets. Although these anomalies are jarring at the start, they soon become the order of the day and seem second nature.
The baby wooly mammoth (Rachel Backing) and baby dinosaur (Sara Louise Moss) unfortunately have to be put outside to brave the oncoming glacier, so as to make room for the humans in the house. Not to spoil the story but mammoths and dinosaurs become extinct by the end of the first act. In act two Mr. Antrobus (Kyle Young) gets elected as President of the Mammals. He and his lovely wife (Wendy Silva) have to herd all the animals, two of each, onto a boat to survive the oncoming storm. Later, having survived the previous catastrophes, the family moves on to endure The War. The Announcer (Smedley Hooper) and Sabina (Stephanie Wyatt), the maid, break the fourth wall to help walk the audience through the action, sometimes telling us what is going on and, other times, directing us onward without explanation. The Antrobus’s come across as a genuine couple, Young and Silva displaying some excellent chemistry. Ryan Weel and Amanda Rzany portray the Antrobus children in acts one and two with enthusiasm, then in act three as adults with an even more impressive dynamic turn. Kara Ewinger embodies the Fortune Teller with vibrant fanaticism.
With a cast of 36 characters portrayed by 19 actors, there are several actors that play multiple roles in this production, and they all do an exceptional job. David Mitchell donned several hats (two actual hats and one imaginary one), in a demonstration of his versatility. The Independent’s own Duncan Macnab partied with the Conveeners, as well as being a Doctor, in a brilliant display of amateur acting, which is not to say it was bad. However, Wyatt steals the show at several points, particularly when she gets to ham it up while supposedly out of character.
Once again, Stage Center has found wonderful talent in NEIU’s student body and brought a classic story to life on its stage. If you didn’t get a chance to see this show, look for future Stage Center productions and even if you did, future shows will be worth seeing. Faculty and students get in free with their ID.