Lone(ly) Wolf

Wolf Play – The Gift Theatre

Wolf Play is being given its Chicago premiere this month at Gift Theater. It is the story of a young Korean boy who was adopted by American parents, but who, now that they have unexpectedly had a baby they thought they couldn’t, have ‘unadopted’ him. His new parents try build a bond with him, but it proves more complicated than they could have imagined.

When he first comes to his new home, he is introduced by his (formerly) adoptive father Peter as Peter Jr. A short time later, he tells his new adoptive parents his name is really Jeenu. And there are a few things to know about Jeenu. First, he is portrayed in the play by a puppet. More importantly, as the actor who controls Jeenu tells us at the start of the show, he is not really a human boy. He is a wolf. That’s even how the character is credited in the playbill – Wolf. He is alone, without a pack, and sees every interaction with his old and new family through that lens.

The most interesting part for me was watching Robin and Ash, his new parents, adjust to the reality of having Jeenu in their house. Ash is initially resentful that Robin essentially unilaterally decided to adopt a child, but unexpectedly becomes the first person he opens up to, telling her his real name over a bowl of cereal. Robin is more overtly eager, but has to deal with the reality that the image she had of Jeenu and motherhood in her mind is not the same as the actual boy (or wolf) in front of her. Watching both parents adapt their lives and themselves to the child in front of them is what sets them apart from his first adoptive family. When adoption didn’t work out the way they thought it would, they abandoned him in favor of their new (biological) child. Later in the play though, we see Peter fail at the reality of that new arrangement, too. Maybe that’s a good a definition of family as you can come up with. They are the people who care about the person you really are, not the picture they have of you in their mind. Even if the real you is a wolf just pretending to be a boy.

The cast, across the board is fantastic. I particularly want to praise Dan Lin pulling double duty as both a kind of narrator and the puppet master and voice for Jeenu. He has to break the fourth wall while making sure we don’t lose the connection to the character he creates for Jeenu. He is more than up to the task, infusing both Jeenu and his own performance with a wonderful physicality that enhances rather than distracts from the story being told. Jennifer Glasse, who appeared earlier this year in Gift Theatre’s production of Doubt as Mrs. Muller turns in another powerful performance as Robin. She does an excellent job portraying the complicated and sometimes contradictory emotions that accompany being a new parent.

The production design is also excellent. The entire set, designed by Arnel Sancianco and painted by Lauren Giolli, and most of the props are painted a solid blue-grey, giving it the washed out feel of a water color storybook. The focus is, of course, the puppet that portrays Jeenu. I’m always pleasantly surprised by how quickly suspension of disbelief snaps into place in live theater. They told me this puppet was a real boy who thought he was a wolf and I was on board immediately. The question I always ask when a show does something like this is, “Is it worth it?” Would it have worked as well if they had cast an actual boy or let the adult actor manipulating the puppet just play the part as himself the whole time. I definitely think something is added by the choice to portray the child as a puppet. It lends a fairy tale quality to the story being told from a child’s perspective. It adds a little distance between the actors and Jeenu in the early scenes, but somehow makes him feel closer to the audience. Beautifully designed by Stephanie Diaz, the puppet almost embodies the fragility that the character cannot. The permanently furrowed brow and clenched fist underscore a child who can’t possibly comprehend what is going on, let alone respond to it properly, and who retreats into the fantasy of being an animal who knows how to make it alone because he does not.

The play obviously touches on a number of issues that are…complicated…to say the least. I think part of what made this play so good is that it doesn’t reach for solutions or even concrete positions on a lot of those issues. Focusing the story on how Jeenu sees and navigates the world lets those issues pervade the story without obscuring it.

The use of the puppet, the color scheme of the set, the fantasy of being a wolf in disguise – they all combine to give the show the feel of a fairy tale. The show is effective and quietly heartbreaking as we watch the ways real people do not fit into those neatly drawn characters and real life not play out into neatly drawn conclusions. Given life by a very talented cast, the story is moving, at times overwhelming, and it should definitely be on your short list for what to see this summer.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Presented July 11-August 18 by The Gift Theatre at 4802 N. Milwaukee, Chicago.

Tickets are available at thegifttheatre.org.

For more information on this and other shows, visits theatreinchicago.com.