Articles tagged with: Matt Browning
Role Playing: Sophia Menendian reached back (but not far) as plucky Armenian refugee of 15
![Role Playing: Sophia Menendian reached back (but not far) as plucky Armenian refugee of 15 Feature 1](https://chicagoontheaisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Feature-12-125x125.jpg)
Interview: The most disarming, lovable character I’ve seen on a Chicago stage this season has to be 15-year-old Seta, refugee of the Armenian genocide and mail-order bride in Richard Kalinoski’s “Beast on the Moon,” played with big-eyed, open-hearted exuberance by Sophia Menendian, who’s all of 20. She says she captured Seta’s buoyancy by recalling her own unbridled spirit as an adolescent.
‘Beast on the Moon’ at Raven: After Armenian genocide, an improbable pair retool their lives
![‘Beast on the Moon’ at Raven: After Armenian genocide, an improbable pair retool their lives Seta (Sophia Menendian) is thrilled with the beautiful new mirror she receives as a wedding present from Tomasian (Mat](https://chicagoontheaisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Seta-Sophia-Menendian-is-thrilled-with-the-beautiful-new-mirror-she-receives-as-a-wedding-present-from-Tomasian-Mat-125x125.jpg)
Review: Outwardly, Richard Kalinoski’s play “Beast on the Moon” is about a young man and a teenage girl, refugees from the 1915 Armenian genocide who have lost their families and embark on a new life together as immigrants in Milwaukee. But as Raven Theatre’s exuberantly funny and sensitive production so urgently telegraphs, this tragi-comedy is ultimately about the beast within – a fearsome creature of the mind spawned by terror, isolation and guilt. ★★★★