REVIEW: Purple Rose's 'Corktown' Is Bold

The Purple Rose Theatre Company's world premiere of Corktown by Chelsea resident Michael Brian Ogden is definitely for mature audiences only. 

I found the use of excessive swearing and racial slurs to be a bit unnecessary, as the characters could still have established themselves without that dialogue. I think the show tries a bit too hard to be too edgy.

Corktown wasn't at all my cup of tea, but I think others may enjoy it. The technical aspects of Corktown are fantastic. The set design by Bartley H. Bauer, along with properties designed by Danna Segrest, are perfectly executed. 

The bilevel set makes the most of every inch of space, and the bathroom onstage behind a scrim (a think piece of fabric that makes areas visible or closed off, depending on the lighting) with the bathtub full of body parts looked very realistic.

I loved choreographer Nate Mitchell's combat sequences. The slow motion of the fights lets the audience really see the intricacy of the movements, which shows the talent of the actors. 

Deserving special mention is the backstage crew, who have to clean up the buckets of blood after every performance.  This is no small feat, as there is blood everywhere by the end of the show.

Michael Brian Ogden, as Laurence, is a joy to watch onstage. He is very smooth in his line delivery and in his movement on stage. His facial expressions really add to his performance.

Tom Whalen, as mob boss Cobb, is the standout performer of the show for me.  His quiet intensity had me waiting for more stage time from him. 

Matthew David, as Joey, shows a wide range of emotion and depth of character, but I had a hard time understanding him at times between all the yelling and the slight accent.

Stacie Hadgikosti, as Jenny, the show's lone female character, did a great job as well. She gives the show a nice energy, and her quiet tears in the second act make it hard to not feel for her. I would have liked to see more fear in a few places from her, though. I didn't feel like her life could be in danger at any given minute.

Corktown continues at The Purple Rose through March 5. For ticket information, call the box office at 734-433-7673 or visit PurpleRoseTheatre.org.