PERFORMANCE BY BOB EISEN REVISITED
His world is utterly insular. Not only does he appear to live in his own little theatrical hole up in the rafters, he seems unprepared to deal with the presence of others. The first thing he does after giving his audience a nervous glance is to examine his face in a shaving mirror mounted on the ceiling. In this opening minute, Eisen deftly creates a wonderfully contradictory and therefore human character. This curious, hermitlike man, tucked away in self-imposed solitary confinement, apparently needs reassurance that his hair looks OK.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Ultimately this character seems lost yet unaware of his own aimlessness, making him genuinely touching. If this quiet, lonely man must prepare so elaborately just to run around the corner for a beer, how would he ever handle a real problem? As if to emphasize the rootlessness of Eisen’s character, Melvin’s set is a collection of simple wooden ladders that fill the room, going in all directions at once. These ladders, which might carry the figure to some higher level if properly aligned, here simply double back on themselves.
