“The Attempters”
Written by Shawn Pfautsch
Showing: The House Theatre of Chicago at The Building Stage, 412 N. Carpenter St., through April 19
Tickets: $17-$22
Contact: (773) 251-2195; thehousetheatre.com

By Lawrence Bommer

CFP theater editor

Moving from the Viaduct Theatre, the vast home of spectacles like “The Sparrow” and “Hatfield & McCoy,” has proven retrograde for House Theatre of Chicago. Minus choreography (fight and dance), sprawling stage pictures and the splashy effects of earlier extravaganzas, “The Attempters” sacrifices flying ninjas for a familiar if stylized tale of a teenager’s coming of age. Played on the rear end of a loading dock in the Building Stage, Shawn Pfautsch’s script takes more scrutiny than it can bear. Director Marika Mashburn’s ensemble have a lot less to work with than in previous House-capades. 

Combining the goofy charm of “Flight of the Conchords” and the teenage angst of “Ferris Bueller,” “The Attempters” is the unedifying saga of 17-year-old Danny Hackles, a kid haunted by rock-star aspirations that his therapist dad can’t quite exorcize. We follow Danny’s exploits as his band Complete Anarchy succumbs to just that and Danny’s hit composition is stolen by a rival. Increasingly self-absorbed as he struggles to right imaginary wrongs committed against his seemingly irresistible genius, Danny runs unsuccessfully for city council. When he loses, he’s barely restrained from jumping a car to prove his worthiness. This perpetual Peter Pan then decides to play swami, then filmmaker: His “Invisible Man” only exposes his neediness to an indifferent world. Finally, Danny reconciles with the rocker who stole his song and develops enough humility to regain the respect of Nola Charley, a former groupie who’d been turned off by Danny’s rampant narcissism. Unfortunately, Danny’s self-rehabilitation is no more convincing than his desperation for attention.  

Pfautsch accurately captures Danny’s protean personality, which takes on the shape of everyone around him since there’s no inner being to resist the makeovers. But, despite Christ Mathews’ fluid and dynamic portrayal, it’s hardly an earth-shattering revelation that people discover themselves mainly through the process of elimination, purging the false to find the rest. Danny’s stunts illustrate the lesson fairly well but they can’t make it any more original.

Mary Winn Heider brings tensile dignity to Danny’s much-tested soulmate, Paul Fagen a certain battered dignity as his hapless dad. Johnny Arena (a great name for an actor!) is stalwart as Finn, Danny’s video game-playing best friend forever, and Robyn Senchak holds her own as an actress who becomes Finn’s leading lady. But their hard work is attenuated by a slight, stereotypical script that forfeits the fun that comes with The House.