Somebody’s Watching You

Bug – Steppenwolf Theatre

In a foul, frowzy hotel, two lost souls find one another, but that’s only the beginning. Agnes lives in these two fetid rooms while she works at the nearby strip club. The phone rings and rings, but Agnes refuses to answer it because she’s fairly certain that someone’s watching her. And that someone is Jerry, her violent ex husband, who was sent to prison, but may have finagled his way out in an early release. But there are others watching the occupants of the grimy little motel room.

Agnes’ lesbian buddy, R.C., shows up at her room with a new acquaintance, a shy, former young military man named Peter. Before heading out to a nearby party, the three enjoy some booze, cocaine and a bit of awkward conversation in Agnes’ room. But Peter, who seems far more mysterious and cautious as the evening wears on. Agnes agrees to let him stay the night with her, and soon these two lonesome losers end up caring deeply for each other.

But during the night, Peter begins seeing bugs crawling around the bed. He believes they’ve burrowed into his skin and have infested the entire room. And this isn’t the first time he’s seen these insects, as indicated by the bites all over his body as well as the places where Peter’s tried to dig the bugs out of himself. Soon the young man’s neurosis has spread to Agnes and together they’re battling these bugs. Peter convinces his lady love that these bugs were planted inside of him by the Army, as an experiment, and they have been passed, through sexual contact, to Agnes. But the bugs aren’t just insects; they’re a means of watching Peter, and now Agnes. But is Peter correct in his theory? Is he a hapless victim? Or is he genuinely psychotic?

Tracy Letts’ violent, haunting horror story premiered in London in 1996, although the production was rehearsed at Chicago’s Red Orchid Theatre. After the play made its American debut in Washington D.C., “Bug” opened at Red Orchid in 2001. Here, beautifully directed by Chicago’s own David Cromer, both Carrie Coons and Namir Smallwood turn in bravado performances as Agnes and Peter. Ms. Coons is a brilliant portrait of desolation and desperation. For her, Peter represents a bright ray of sunshine in a dark, stagnant world. She’ll soon discover he’s quite different from the quiet, almost childlike man she expected, but Agnes will eventually buy into Peter’s story, with gusto. As Peter, Mr. Smallwood, who wowed audiences with his recent performances in Steppenwolf’s “True West,” “BLKS” and “Monster,” is simply mesmerizing. His character’s journey from soft-spoken, introverted Peter to a raging, take-charge man whose frantic, bold and desperate. Smallwood’s Peter believes he’s become raging victim of the System, and his transformation is astounding.

The supporting cast is excellent as well. Steve Key is a monstrous, thug-like Jerry; Jennifer Engstrom, last seen in Steppenwolf’s “Lindiwe,” is delightfully bawdy, and a force of nature, as R.C.; and Randall Arney brings a welcome aura of calm and concern as Dr. Sweet. The scenic design, beautifully rendered by Takeshi Kata, is extraordinary. The hotel room, and the metamorphosis it undergoes, becomes another character in this play. Josh Schmidt’s insistent sound design drives the madness of the bugs into the audience’s brain, while Heather Gilbert’s moodily expressive lighting creates using a palette of radiance and shadows.

David Cromer’s new production of Tracy Letts’ horror story is magnificent. His production focuses on two lonely outcasts brought together by their mutual need for each other. The story binds Agnes and Peter together in a story of love and survival, set amidst a background of drugs, violence, paranoia, psychotic delusions, supposed secret government experiments and conspiracy theories. Slowly Agnes sinks into the morass of madness with Peter, as she gives herself entirely to the man she’s come to love.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas   

Presented February 4-March 15 by Steppenwolf Theatre Co., 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling audience services at 312-335-1650 or by going to www.steppenwolf.org.

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