Review: The Conductors, with Kerfuffle.
editor's note: i've been having some technical issues with the website, so apologies for that, hopefully this is still getting to subscribers' inboxes okay.
due to the nature of this piece, this review is not behind the paywall. enjoy!
my son is barely thirteen-months-old and has somehow already seen three plays. chalk it up to his parents' proclivity for live performance, and us having friends and colleagues actively working in the theater realm, but one could also place the "blame" at Chicago's passion and propensity for Theater for Young Audiences as a practice to be taken seriously. some theater companies feature TYA shows as a side project from their more adult-focused mainstage material (Marriott Theatre and Steppenwolf for Young Adults pop to mind immediately) while there are a few companies fully devoted to the act of producing theater solely aimed at young audiences (Chicago Children's Theatre and Young People's Theatre of Chicago emerging as the most well-known culprits).
and then there are companies like Kerfuffle, an itinerant group devoted to Theatre for the Very Young (or TVY, if you will), their pieces hopping around from parks to libraries and beyond, now stopping by Lifeline Theatre with the delightfully adventurous piece The Conductors, under the inventive direction of Artistic Director Ashley Laverty .
due to scheduling issues, I sadly wasn't able to attend the same day as my young one, but I was told he was focused intently on the entire 38-minute long performance, finding great joy in getting his ticket punched by one of the Conductors early in the show, and taken entirely by the varied and episodic nature of the piece. though engaging in dialogue and conversation with audience members in the lobby before the show (there's plenty of coloring and activities to be done while waiting), once the show begins, the amiable trio of performers (Shea Lee, Madison Hill, and Samie Jo Johnson) become practically non-verbal for the duration of the performance, spouting out simple words every now and then ("Treasure!" being the most frequent) but primarily resorting to grunts and squeaks and other outbursts to express whatever emotion the moment demands.
plot-wise, The Conductors follows the trio's search for treasure, their magic train taking them to four stops along the way; Under the Sea, Grandparent's House, Outer Space, and The Mountains. I won't lie, I was initially bewildered by the presence of something as seemingly ordinary as a visit to a relative's home to watch TV and eat cookies (I also had questions about whether the Conductors are playing variations on themselves in these different scenes, or whether they're play-acting and become different characters in each scenario), but the young audience members around me didn't seem to engage in such dramaturgical minutiae, the truthful emotional engagement of each setting rewarding enough in its own right.
truly, Laverty's cast are tremendously skilled as physical performers, using the slightest of physical props and costume pieces to transform throughout the piece, conveying leagues of information with gesture and movement. Lee, Hill, and Johnson work wonderfully together, and their engagement and care with their young audience members did not go unnoticed. The Conductors is a short, sweet, delightfully creative work, and evidenced by my own family's enjoyment, transformative in its own right. all aboard, I say!
The Conductors performs at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N. Glenwood Ave) through December 21st 2025. Tickets are available HERE.
