John Lang's pleasantly spunky production of "Misalliance" certainly comes with surety. A typically talky bit of Shaw penned when old GBS was at the peak of his massive ego (he even refers to himself in his own play), it's a social comedy about, well, misalliances, between parents and children, men and women, workers and aristocrats. It's a prescient piece reflecting the arrival of Darwinism, socialism, proto-feminism. Therein, people sit around and talk about pretty much about the same stuff that everybody talks about now.
APT's mature core company — Jonathan Smoots, Brian Mani and Sarah Day —offers a superbly spoken display of ensemble acting. But the star of this lively show is a young, powerhouse talent called Carrie A. Coon, who grabs her energetic, sexually free character by the scruff of her neck and turns her into a primal, brilliant young woman who knows too well that she was born about 50 years too early. She's worth the drive too.
I've long argued that American Players Theatre is a viable alternative to Stratford, Ontario, which attracts many summering Chicagoans. APT is much closer, and this summer in Spring Green, you get decent Shav with stellar Shakes and you never have to quit the fresh air.
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