bobrauschenbergamerica

This boldly entertaining performance piece chronicles the adventures of a wild collection of characters including a trucker, a homeless man, and a couple working through the difficulties of romance. Their stories are told in a variety of styles and forms, ranging from melodrama to stand-up routine, and the action is punctuated by a roller-skating Mistress of Ceremonies and plenty of dance breaks.

A fitting tribute to the profoundly influential visual artist Robert Rauschenberg (who passed away this May) bobrauschenbergamerica is a collage of characters and stories, movement and music, lovers’ spats and chicken jokes. Much like Rauschenberg’s famous “combines,” which incorporated everything from paint and photographs to busted tires and taxidermied animals, this play mixes the mundane and the sublime in a daring exploration of the American experience. Directed by Jack Tamburri, Chicago Fusion Theatre’s production is inspired by Rauschenberg’s vibrant aesthetic and boundless generosity. It is a love letter to audiences, artists, and America.