“Life Sucks" at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre -- November 15 through 24.
Friday, November 15, through Sunday, November 24
Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL
Hailed by the Chicago Sun-Times as "altogether wise, profoundly humane, hilarious, quirky, endearing and, in countless clever ways, brilliantly faithful to its source," playwright Aaron Posner's savagely funny comedy Life Sucks makes its Quad Cities debut at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre from November 15 through 24, this brilliant riff on Anton Chekhov's legendary Uncle Vanya also inspiring DC Theatre Scene to state, "Life sucks, maybe, but watching the Posner play is pure bliss."
In this brash reworking of Chekhov’s esteemed play, a group of old friends, ex-lovers, estranged in-laws, and lifelong enemies gather to grapple with life’s thorniest questions, as well as with each other. What could possibly go wrong? Incurably lustful and lonely, hapless and hopeful, these seven souls collide and stumble their way towards a new understanding that life sucks. Or does it ... ? An imaginative celebration/satire by the author of Stupid F---ing Bird, itself a comedic take on Chekhov's The Seagull, Life Sucks has amassed raves since its 2015 debut. The Chicago Tribune called the comedy "very smart and self-aware ... a light and airy conversation-starter of a show that’s just satirical enough to fulfill those who’d rather sit in traffic than watch anything by Chekhov and clever and accurately Chekhovian enough to pleasure those who love the source play." Broadway World, meanwhile, deemed the play "comic gold" that's "filled with laughs and anarchic asides. Posner’s ear for comedy is reminiscent of Mel Brooks in his prime.”
Directing Life Sucks is Playcrafters veteran Madison Duling, who previous helmed Posner's Stupid F---ing Bird for the venue in 2019, and whose other Barn Theatre credits include The Christmas Letter Writing Club and Princeton's Rage. The comedy's Vanya figure is portrayed by Michael Turczynski, a castmate in Playcrafters' productions of Sense & Sensibility and Dog Sees God, with the Life Sucks ensemble completed by Pam Cantrell, Bruce Duling, Julie Hummel, Adrienne Jane, Eric Landuyt, and Stephanie Moeller. The creative team includes Makis Witt (stage manager), Eric Teeter (producer), Gio Macias (lighting designer), Lily Blouin (fight choreographer and intimacy coordinator), and Kathie Burnett (props master), with director Duling also the designer of the show poster.
Life Sucks closes the 2024 season at Moline's Barn Theatre from November 15 through 24, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $13-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
