What We Do for Family

Curve of Departure – Northlight Theatre

 

When the lights rise on Lauren Nigri’s detailed, ultra-realistic Santa Fe motel room setting, we discover Linda ironing a man’s suit, while an elderly gentleman named Rudy is commandeering the remote as he watches a sensational reality TV program. The irony of this moment is that, by the end of Rachel Bonds’ poignant one-act family drama, the tabloid journalism that Rudy seems to enjoy so much can’t even begin to compare with the real-life drama that exists within his own family. Directed with sensitivity and a smooth, naturalistic pacing, Artistic Director BJ Jones has brought this heartfelt story to Chicago audiences in an affecting, memorable production. This beautiful play marks a stunning beginning to Northlight Theatre’s 2018-19.

Rachel Bonds’ 2016 slice-of-life drama features a quartet of authentic, recognizable characters. She’s given these folks a series of believable conflicts to face head-on, communicated through an evening of candid dialogue and debate. Nothing about this play feels false, and Jones’ production honors this truthfulness with his production. 

The story is set on the evening before and the morning of a family funeral. Cyrus was Rudy’s much-hated adult son, who abandoned his wife, Linda, and his young son, Felix, many years ago. Felix soon arrives from Los Angeles, with his boyfriend, Jackson, to reunite with his mother and grandfather and share their hotel room. Felix finds that Rudy, affectionately cared for by his daughter-in-law, Linda, continues to suffer from dementia and incontinence, but is just as feisty and funny as ever. Linda’s devotion to her father-in-law has prompted her to think about retiring early from teaching in order to care for Rudy full-time. Rudy will hear none of this, and has decided that he will, instead, take his own life, in order to spare his family any further burden. Felix and his boyfriend arrive with their own personal problems, a dilemma that stems from Jackson’s difficult family situation. But amid all the drama aired on this particular evening, this hotel room is filled with love.        

Jones has cast his production with four of Chicago’s finest actors, some more familiar to Northlight theatergoers than others. Talented and much-respected senior actor, Mike Nussbaum, is Rudy. He brings decades of skill and experience to a role that seems to have been written especially for this gifted Thespian. Touted by Actor’s Equity as being the oldest actor still working on stage, Mr. Nussbaum is both hilarious and fierce as this impulsive, venerable Jewish New Yorker. Rudy’s reminiscences about growing up in the Big Apple are equally beautiful and tender, and Mr. Nussbaum delivers these monologues with his familiar gusto.

Penelope Walker, who portrays Linda with passion and dignity, has been enjoyed in performances at just about every theatre in Chicago, along with her many film and television appearances. Ms. Walker is superb, and it’s difficult to imagine another actor inhabiting this role so perfectly. She is the caregiver, both for her students, her father-in-law, her son and, in a heartbreaking moment of empathy, for her son’s boyfriend. As, Linda, Ms. Walker is the listener. She’s the one character in the room who fuses the family together. While she may not be able to bring resolution for everyone on this evening, Linda offers boundless compassion, understanding and a whole lot of support.

Felix is played by Sean Parris, another actor returning to Northlight with a roster of impressive credits from all over Chicago. Parris’ Felix is a quiet, sensitive and caring young man, obviously carrying the burden of some kind of personal problem that’s much larger than simply attending the funeral of a father he loved, but didn’t like. As Jackson, Felix’s Latino boyfriend, Danny Martinez makes his auspicious debut in Skokie. He brings a natural honesty and believability that allows Martinez to hold his own on a stage with these three talented Equity actors. Mr. Martinez keeps his performance ever truthful and, without resorting to sentimentality, makes Jackson and Felix’s conflict as real and important as the rest of this play. This young man is an actor to watch.

In addition to Lauren Nigri’s lifelike Santa Fe motel room setting, the production is truly enhanced by Heather Gilbert’s sensational lighting design. She’s bathed the final scene on the hotel terrace in the radiance of a New Mexican sunrise that feels especially genuine. Alexis Chaney’s costumes add another dimension to each character, especially Rudy’s mismatched socks; and Andre Pluess has created a sound design that brings it all together.

Rachel Bonds’ candidly written, unsentimental one-act rewards audiences with a story with which everyone can relate. BJ Jones’  has crafted a production that will ring true with every theatergoer. In a small motel room, Bonds has given us a microcosm of what we wish this country could be: a diverse group of people of varying ages, who all love and respect each other, despite their problems and differences. It’s a play about caring, and it’s about what we do for family.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas             

  

Presented September 13-October 21 by Northlight Theatre, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 847-673- 6300 or by going to www.northlight.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com