A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Mike Pence Sex Dream – First Floor Theatre

Following the 2016 election, two young men do their best to live their newly-wedded lives happily while coping with the frighteningly disastrous effects of the Trump presidency and administration. Ben is an excellent, compassionate elementary school teacher who cares for their students, but who also passionately wishes be a role model and make a difference. Ben, as a gay American, wants to show the school, and the world, that the Constitution has given them the unalienable right to be themselves. Thus, if Ben wants to wear a dress, there’s no reason for them to be challenged or ridiculed.

Gary, Ben’s husband, works for a large advertising firm. While he, too, would like to help Ben effect a positive change in the world, Gary also has his own aspirations and a desire to provide a decent living for Ben and himself. When the opportunity to land a challenging, financially lucrative new account falls into his lap, Gary goes after it with gusto. However, to Ben’s dismay, the company meeting with Gary, for a new marketing manager, sells bacon. Ben has become a vegetarian, for humanitarian reasons, and doesn’t approve of Gary’s decision to support the company’s inhumane treatment of animals.

During his initial business meeting with Tom, the CEO of the meat company, Gary senses he’s met another gay man who, despite also having a significant other, might be up for a little extramarital fun. Ben’s ethical debates with Gary about his choice to represent a controversial meat company put a damper on the couple’s sex life. Combined with Tom’s titillating demands in the bedroom, and the smug, seductiveness projected by the persona of our country’s Vice President, Gary begins having provocative dreams and sexual fantasies about Mike Pence; and, like Cinderella, we can only conclude that Gary’s dreams are simply wishes that his heart makes.

Dan Giles’ new play, now enjoying its world premiere in Chicago, joins his other dramas, like “Breeders,” “The Blast” and “1969: The Second Man.” First Floor Theater’s Artistic Director, Hutch Pimentel, has bravely and unabashedly staged Mr. Giles’ riveting, arousing and fascinating play in an intimate setting. The production takes place no more than a few feet from the audience, plunging theatergoers directly into the bizarre, sexually charged world of these three young men. The company’s goal to present “stories of individuals facing moments of radical change” has never felt more immediate and true.

Typically this theater company tells its stories through the talents of its remarkable actors. Mr. Pimentel’s production is no exception. His trio of actors demonstrate fearlessness and fortitude in their portrayals. Scott Shimizu, who successfully demonstrated his skill in such diverse productions as Silk Road Rising’s “Through the Elevated Line,” the Greenhouse Theater Center’s “Machinal” and Marriott Lincolnshire’s “Anything Goes,” is mesmerizing as Gary. He carefully balances his devotion to Ben with his ambition to succeed in his career. As the lines between his personal and professional life begin to blur, we see a man losing control over the things that matter most to him. Mr. Shimizu’s performance as Gary is enthralling.

As Ben, Collin Quinn Rice is strong and confident. Rice is a conscientious young person who knows who they are and lives a life that supports certain ideals and beliefs. Collin seamlessly shifts between impish and impassioned, at a moment’s notice. Under the guidance of talented actor/dancer, Breon Arzell, both Rice and Shimizu get to showcase their considerable musical talents in a seductively choreographed dance break.

The skill with which talented, Jeff Award-winning Gage Wallace plays Tom, the beguiling bacon boss, is spellbinding. In his first meeting with Gary, the actor’s coy behavior seems shy and unassuming. But the way he becomes disarmed by the young marketing man, is brilliant. As the tables turn and Tom gains the upper hand, the audience witnesses a subtle power shift that’s both mesmerizing and menacing. As a man with the power to manipulate those around him, Mr. Wallace’s transferal of control is complex and cunning.

Dan Giles’ latest play melds the feelings of many Americans, concerning the disruptive change in our government, balanced with the personal relationship between three men. Most specifically, Giles’ drama is how power and prestige oftentimes merge with sexual desire and dreamlike fantasies. There are no answers in this play; only questions and situations presented for our thoughtful consideration. Played out upon a creatively adaptable set, designed by William Boles, often playfully bathed in fog, shadows and light, by Claire Chrzan, the production seamlessly shifts between scenes, laced with sound and music, by Eric Backus. Hutch Pimentel’s direction is powerful and straightforward, always guiding his gifted actors to bring their best to the stage, and ever focused upon telling the story of three men facing a radical change in their lives.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas                              

Presented February 16-March 16 by First Floor Theater at the Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available at the Den box office or by going to www.firstfloortheater.com.

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