photo by Kristin Basta

“When modern day financial instruments and credit default swaps begins to resemble the impulsive gambling schemes of an 18th-century libertine, why shouldn’t we turn to that sly, witty, and insouciant rogue–especially when, down on his luck in prison, he is being candid about all his vices, compulsions, hair-brained money-making misadventures and sexual entrapments. Isaacson has rediscovered the perfect figure to expose us to the implications and ramifications of real-life venture capitalism. Add a little sex, an aspect of human nature that is driven by many of the same delusions and impulses as gambling with other people’s money, and you have the 21st-century financial crisis, only saucier.”

Read the whole thing here.

The Newcity Review:
“RECOMMENDED.

“Imagine if NPR—in particular, perhaps, the “Planet Money” show—were a theater company, and “Casanova Takes a Bath” might be something they would produce. In this one-person show, writer/performer David Isaacson takes a topic as dry as the recent American financial crisis, and overlays it with the lens of eighteenth-century libertine Giacomo Casanova, suddenly making the narrative of the financial crisis as saucy as a Harlequin romance…
“You have to marvel at the kind of mind that could see the parallels between two such seemingly disparate worlds. Yet, while you may not come away with any deeper understanding of economics, Isaacson’s insightful antics are nothing short of a revelation.” (Neal Ryan Shaw)

Link to full review

We love the lead of this review:

“If you’re in Chicago, and you’re looking for some brilliant comic juxtapositions, go see any show produced by the folks at Theater Oobleck; they are the Brilliant Comic Juxtapositions People.”

And the rest of it isn’t so bad either! (No, actually it’s good. Very good. You can read it here.

“In this amusing solo lecture-cum-farce, [David Isaacson] exposes the cupidity, stupidity, narcissism, and—most of all—magical thinking behind the crisis by showing how nicely it parallels the financial misadventures of a man who got in on the ground floor of laissez-faire capitalism: the legendary lover, Giacomo Casanova. . . . Charming and smart.” — Tony Adler, in the Chicago Reader

Read the full review.

“If the financial shenanigans that led to our economic meltdown still make your eyes glaze over, David Isaacson’s new one-man show, “Casanova Takes a Bath,” should go a long way toward rectifying that.” — or so sayeth Nina Metz in the Chicago Tribune

Read the full review

Theater Oobleck, along with our pals the Neo-Futurists, are really excited to bring back, for ONE SHOW ONLY, one of our biggest hits ever: The Complete Lost Works Of Samuel Beckett As Found In An Envelope (partially burned) In A Dustbin In Paris Labeled “Never to be performed. Never. Ever. EVER! Or I’ll Sue! I’LL SUE FROM THE GRAVE!”

It is this Saturday, May 29, at the Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted Street, in Chicago, at 5pm.

Here’s a sampling of what the press has said: “Howlingly on target!” – New York Times. “I fell off my chair laughing” – The Guardian. “Hilariously liberating” – The London Times. “The performances are sharp, the wit sharper; it had audiences in screams and tears” – Village Voice

After eleven international runs including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, London’s Riverside Theater, a three-month UK tour, a production touring Europe in German, and three sold-out runs in New York City, this Theater Oobleck/Neo-Futurist collaboration returns to Chicago for the first time since it premiered in the Rhino Festival in a decade ago.

Featuring Neo-Futurist Founder Greg Allen, Oobleck Founder Danny Thompson, and the amazing John Jughead Pierson as “the actor”, this is a one-shot opportunity to see this award-winning show before we tour again.

Tickets are $15. More if you’ve got it! FREE if you’re broke!
No reservations accepted. Just show up at the Steppenwolf Garage on Saturday (May 29th) before 5pm, give us a donation and you’re in!

We will be filming the show so bring your friends!

Courtesy the magical Danny Thompson.

Rebecca Palmore, of Metromix, talks with David Isaacson about Casanova, bubbles, and the sensual pleasures of global finance through the ages.

Casanova Takes a Bath is opening, and at every performance this weekend half the proceeds will go to the following worthy organizations.

Casanova is at its heart, a play about economic injustice. And so Friday’s performance will be a benefit for the American Friends Service Committee , which engages in peace and economic justice work.

Saturday is a benefit for The Crossroads Fund , a foundation that supports numerous local economic and social justice organizations.

And Sunday is a benefit for the Roger Park Montessori Financial Aid Fund.

We highly recommend that you make reservations for these events.

But that is not all we’ve got going on this weekend. In addition, we will be joining forces with the Neo-Futurists in presenting some of Danny Thompson and Greg Allen’s Lost Works of Samuel Beckett . This is being presented for free at Steppenwolf, in conjunction with their production of Endgame.

And that’s not all! Company member Diana Slickman, along with Oobleck vets David Kodeski and Rachel Claff, will perform with BoyGirlBoyGirl in The Flesh Market. On Friday night and Saturday nights, this will serve as a kind of double-feature (for you solo performance die-hards) with Casanova Takes a Bath. Come to the Prop Thtr for the Flesh Market, stay for the Bath.