Review: Rogue Artists Ensemble’s ‘Schlitzie: Alive and Inside’
- Anthony Gutierrez
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Artists and storytellers love to look back on the legendary old days of entertainment. Vaudeville, the circus, the freak show. The hustle and bustle, adventure, a dusty life on the road. It is well known that the life of a traveling performer in the early decades of the 1900s was hard. Nevertheless, it is easy to romanticize the lives of the early performers zigzagging across the nation to entertain the masses, one town at a time.
Produced by Rogue Artists Ensemble, written by Eric Fagundes and directed by Nikki DiLoreto, “Schlitzie: Alive and Inside” explores this slice of the American experience from the perspective of Schlitze Surtees, a once famous sideshow performer who experienced brief success in the movies before being discarded and forgotten.
Scenic designer Dillon Nelson deserves applause for an immersive set in the haunting Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church at the Heritage Square Museum. The stage seems to completely surround the audience in the creaky wooden church with performers entering from all angles. Dim lighting and a slatted roof with holes —enough to see the night sky — make one feel transported to a dingy sideshow in the middle of nowhere, back in the 1920s.
Schlitzie Surtees himself had microcephaly, a condition that gave him a specific physical appearance and size. He performed as and was affectionately known by his friends as a “pinhead.”
Instead of using an actor to perform this differently abled character, Schlitzie is portrayed as a puppet, controlled by two performers dressed in black. Puppetry team Estela Garcia, Jacob Surovsky and Brittany Talbot, have created an impressive and unsettlingly lifelike puppet.
Beady black eyes and wide mouth perpetually agape with wonder, Schlitzie’s gaze wanders across the room and into the crowd. As the puppet moves closer, the patchwork of fabric that makes up his face becomes visible, complete with blemishes and wrinkles. The puppetry is impressive and well-conceived, albeit rather terrifying to behold.
As Schlitzie settles into his new life after his celebrity has waned, we see his former life through his memories — the people and lessons he encountered while living and performing on the road. An ensemble of colorful characters comes in and out of the story, each actor playing two or more roles.
Mak Shealy does some heavy lifting, playing six different characters as well as puppeteering, especially sharp as the dual personalities of John/Elise. Costume designer Elena Flores has created a clever costume for Shealy, split down the middle — half gown with fishnet stockings, half tuxedo. And Shealy delivers rapid-fire dialogue between her two characters during a pivotal scene helping Schlitzie discover his stage persona.
With a talented cast, artful puppetry, a perfect venue, a detailed and intricate set, music, projections, props and wild characters, “Schlitzie” has all the trappings of an exciting show. Despite these successfully executed elements, however, the play seems to still have a missing piece.
Though the puppetry is beautifully executed, Schlitzie himself feels hollow and monstrous. It is unclear if this is the intention of the show, but it seems as if the inhuman portrayal of the real Schlitzie distracts from the humanity of the character. And it is sometimes difficult for the actors to have realistic interactions with the puppet, despite its eerily lifelike movements.
Overall, though, “Schlitzie: Alive and Inside” is a touching tribute to the life of Schlitzie Surtees. It is a reminder to keep stories like this alive so we can see the humanity in all people, from all places and walks of life, as well as to remind us of the contributions to society of people with disabilities. This production by Rogue Artists is done with care and respect — a promising example of courageous theater that should be celebrated.
Rogue Artists Ensemble’s “Schlitzie: Alive and Inside” performed at the Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St., Los Angeles, from March 13 to 30.
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