Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Re-engaging with Chicago theater via Steppenwolf’s WHAT IS LEFT, BURNS and the Roustabouts’ PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

• By drediman
• November 13, 2020
• No Comments

One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that it has made theatergoing more democratic. Indeed, the lockdown has allowed many theater fans the opportunity to sample – mostly at reasonable prices through online streaming – the works of theater companies around the world from the comfort of their homes, wherever that may be. Although I now identify as a New Yorker, I spent a bulk of my time as an impressionable young adult in Chicago and its sizable portfolio of high quality theaters (many of them of the intimate “storefront” variety). Suffice to say, it’s been exciting to reacquaint myself with the mighty city’s brand of in-your-face theater without having to book plane tickets. Here are my thoughts on two of these streamed experiences.

PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER
The Roustabouts

One of big success stories of 2017 in Chicago theater was Ike Holter’s Put Your House In Order. Presented by the Roustabouts at the Red Orchid Theatre in Old Town (gosh, I have many powerful memories in that cozy space!), Mr. Holter’s play – much like the game-changing film Get Out – mashes genres (romantic comedy, pulpy horror, social commentary) to disorienting, deeply unsettling effect. Set in the liberal Chicago suburb of Evanston, the claustrophobic one-act play presciently chronicles the onset of a fast-moving killer virus that’s aggressively taking over the world. Furthermore, the play’s artfully crafted subtext anticipates the tense lead-up to 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement. To coincide with Halloween and to revisit the work in the context of our current landscape, the Roustabouts have remounted the piece as a podcast (RECOMMENDED), a format which in my opinion has the potential to be wonderfully immersive and sensationally theatrical. Much like Tracy Letts in his similarly claustrophobic thriller Bug (which coincidentally also played the Red Orchid in an early incarnation), Mr. Holter has a knack for creating nail-biting situations seemingly out of thin air, a quality that’s heightened by the stage conjured by the mind’s eye. The trio of actors from the 2017 production have reprised their performances for this year’s audio-only experience, and they’re terrific.

WHAT IS LEFT, BURNS
Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Perhaps Chicago’s marquee theatrical institution is Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which is located in the city’s desirable Lincoln Park neighborhood. In response to the pandemic, the storied theater company – which is largely responsible for establishing the city’s theater aesthetic – has recently launched Steppenwolf NOW, an online programming stream featuring an enticing array of the company’s acting and writing talents. The first work to be streamed is James Ijames’ What Is Left, Burns (RECOMMENDED), a Zoom two-hander starring ensemble members K. Todd Freeman and Jon Michael Hill (both are exceedingly fine actors). Like Put Your House in Order, Mr. Ijames’ short play references an influential film, in this case the Oscar-winning Moonlight. Both tell the story of a pair of sensitive gay Black men who cautiously explore the possibility of a romantic relationship. The 20-minute play, which depicts a fateful Zoom call between the two protagonists, unfolds efficiently and expertly drops nuggets of information, which the audience uses to piece together to get a sense of their passionate past, troubled present, and hopeful future. It was a huge pleasure to see Mr. Freeman and Mr. Hill back at work and in fine form; they make sure that What Is Left, Burns packs an emotional punch, in typical Steppenwolf fashion. Thanks to Whitney White’s moody, haunting direction, the experience is satisfying despite its brief running time.