THE HANGOVER REPORT – Steppenwolf actors shine in Tracy Letts’ THE MINUTES, a disturbing if somewhat flawed parody excavating American history

Jessie Mueller, Noah Reid, Jeff Still, Tracy Letts, and Cliff Chamberlain in Mr. Letts’ “The Minutes” at Studio 54 (photo by Jeremy Daniel).


Last night, I caught the Broadway edition of Tracy Letts’ The Minutes at Studio 54. The production comes by way of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, arguably Chicago’s flagship theater company and certainly one of the country’s premiere regional theater companies. Like Six, Hangmen, and Mrs. Doubtfire, the production is one of those shows that was in the midst of previews when the pandemic hit. Luckily, much of the cast that was originally scheduled to open the play pre-pandemic – most of them members of Steppenwolf’s deep bench of ensemble actors – have remained tied to the production.

The Minutes starts off innocuously enough as a mildly funny parody of a city council meeting of Big Cherry, a seemingly unremarkable fictitious all American town. But as the work unfolds, it increasingly becomes surreal and horrific, asking the audience with escalating urgency to question the dubious origins of the town – and by extension, America at large and what’s broadly taught in the history books. The production has been directed by Steppenwolf’s own Anna D. Shapiro, who handles Letts’ admittedly jarring transition from naturalistic parody to surrealistic horror as elegantly and smoothly as possible. Indeed, one gets the sense that things are off-kilter almost immediately, but only slightly (e.g., the raging storm and the flickering lights that interject themselves at key moments, the lightly menacing tone, etc.) – until they’re not.

If the play itself has its tonal and structural flaws, I’d be hard pressed to argue with its critical excavation of American history, especially as put over Steppenwolf’s ensemble members – only newcomers Noah Reid (of Schitt’s Creek fame), Tony-winner Jessie Mueller, and the great Blair Brown aren’t official members of the ensemble – whose style of acting is distinctly caustic and in-your-face – even in the play’s lighter satiric mode. Seeing such accomplished Chicago talents as Austin Pendleton, Jeff Still, Cliff Chamberlain, Ian Barford, K. Todd Freeman, Sally Murphy, and the playwright himself together light up a Broadway stage with their incomparable rapport is something to cherish.

RECOMMENDED

THE MINUTES
Broadway, Play
Studio 54
1 hour, 35 minutes (without an intermission)
Through July 24

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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