“Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them” with Eclipse Theatre Company

To conclude their 2019 season of Christopher Durang’s work, Eclipse Theatre Company chose Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, a political comedy that examined the line between jumping to conclusions and dormantly not checking what is hidden in the closet. Even though this text tended to ramble and meander more than Durang’s other works, it sharply poked and prodded our minds about whether the USA’s enemies lie in nations across the sea or in the behaviors of those we share a house and a name with. With direction by Steve Scott, Eclipse has again succeeded in delivering a comedy with relevant issues, presented in an accessible way.

A familiar scene opened up the tale: Tracey Green, as Felicity, awakened in the arms of a man whom she did not remember meeting, a man later named Zamir, played by Siddhartha Rajan. Felicity’s chagrin turned to fear as Zamir not only revealed that they spent the night together, but also got married, and on top of that, he has no job other than shady car rides leading to envelopes of money under rocks and has a terrible temper. Rajan, after appearing in Beyond Therapy, proved yet again to be fluent in Durang’s language, relishing in all moments of clownish buffoonery as a sexist and violent young man who has been shaped by the world’s prejudices. Green struck as many different notes as she could within the key of “woman in a Durang show who has to juggle all of the crazy people and things around her.” 

Felicity returned to her parents’ home with Zamir, in the hope that they, being both racist and eccentric, would disapprove of her new husband and aid her in getting an annulment. Unfortunately, Felicity’s cry for help was met with unhelpful reactions from the two ends of the spectrum: her father Leonard’s, played by Patrick Thornton, trigger-happy disposition only escalated the situation, and her mother Luella’s, played by Elaine Carlson, seemingly submissive personality and wandering mind slackened any momentum they had toward solving the problematic marriage. 

Thornton applied his raspy and gravelly voice as he seethed out insults and brandished a gun to great effect. Every punch line was highlighted by his piercing eyes and bared teeth as he circled the stage like a prowling shark. Some of the most jaw dropping Durang-esque moments of audacity were saved for Carlson, and she won a gold metal for Luella’s personality gymnastics. Truly, it must take so much mental musculature and flexibility to play a woman who is smart enough to know that she must play a role in society to maintain her life and protect herself, but not independent and open-minded enough to break free from conventional traditions. 

Hypocrisy was personified on stage with John Arthur Lewis as Rev. Mike, who married the young pair and also made pornographic films on the side. Lewis featured this hilarious contrast with a swaggering gait and a droning voice, puncturing moments with an innocent eye gaze. Elizabeth Birnkrant and Devon Nimerfroh rounded out the cast as Hildegard and Looney Tunes (respectively), two strangers with dubious connections to Leonard. Birnkrant’s bubbly and bumbling Hildegarde was perhaps the most moral character in the show, but with her camp, Birnkrant proved that morality doesn’t erase farce. Nimerfroh also cavorted around as the narrator, providing commentary and illumination as a 21st Century Rod Serling (from the Twilight Zone). 

Perhaps the cohesion of the ensemble and direction made the seams of the costume (Rachel Lambert) and stage design (Kevin Hagan) a bit too apparent. Felicity started the show in one dress, changed into another as a day passed, and then, when we swung back to the first evening in a memory sequence, donned yet another dress that wasn’t the same one that she began the show in. The stage was divided up smartly into sections for Leondard’s man cave, the living room, dining room, and a local bar, but each one seemed to be drawing from a different palate all framed by white support poles. 

Scott’s astute and generous direction allowed for the characters to have as wonderful and as awful aspects as human beings could have. After watching these characters commit the most ridiculous (negative and positive connotations applied) acts on stage, it was more understandable when their insecurities and fears were revealed to be the seed of the problem. Note the word understandable, not relatable or deserving of sympathy. But the maps to the deeply rooted flaws in these characters were visible. The production asked us why some aspects are accepted and others aren’t, and which aspects of ourselves we need to keep for our better selves and which ones we must discard for our better society. 

Why Torture Is Wrong and the People Who Love Them runs until Sunday, December 15th at the Athenaeum Theatre (2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL). Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and matinees are at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $30 for regular performances with half-price rush tickets available as well. Seniors and students get $10 off with an ID. For tickets, visit www.eclipsetheatre.com or call the Athenaeum Box Office (773-935-6875) in between noon and the last curtain on Wednesday through Sunday. The performance time is two hours and ten minutes (the ten minutes being an intermission). 

Highly Recommended 

Sophie Vitello 

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