TALES FROM TRASHMANIA, at the College of DuPage Arts Center, Theatre 2. Bonnie Koloc is a former Chicago vocalist whose style and voice define musical authenticity and unforced honesty for her fans. But this quirky solo revue challenges even her power to charm. An “art-aretta” (whatever that means) that pushes whimsy to the vanishing point, Tales From Trashmania loosely incorporates 20 songs by Koloc and music director Howard Levy in a rather silly, sentimental story. Koloc imagines herself the sole survivor of a circus clan from Trashmania, a nomadic realm shaped like a violin that seems to have wandered off the map. Discovering a trunk left her by one of her many colorful aunts, Bonique Lu Kolocova pulls out the props and costumes that trigger her songs. Playing herself, the aunts, and the archangel-patron saint of Trashmania, Koloc regales us with cutesy tales of illustrious Kolocovas–a one-legged equestrian, a tightrope-walking opera singer, and Great Aunt Veronica and Her Razor-Backed Flealess Flying Peazles.
