Life After

Life After – Goodman Theatre

There are only two things that are certain in this world: death and taxes. Although taxes can be quite annoying—especially when living in Cook County—death is something that lies far closer to our souls. For every human being, death is an important part of life; the show Life After, written by Britta Johnson, will tug on the heartstrings of every human who watches the performance for that very reason.

The musical focuses on a 16-year-old named Alice and how she deals with the sudden and unexpected death of her father. However, it was not just the car accident and surrounding details of her father Frank’s death that had Alice unable to come to terms with the situation. The day he died, she fought with her dad in a way all fiery teenagers do—and ended the conversation with a phrase that she wishes she could take back. As her father left for his flight that night, he left her a voicemail asking to meet and leave off on a better note…which never came to fruition.

I do not believe there can be a more relatable subject than grief, so those who watch will most definitely tear up. All characters portray grief differently with regret, emptiness, numbness, and anger. If you have ever lost someone or fear losing someone, you can’t help but resonate with the characters and their grieving process after death.

Alice’s grief takes the form of regret, worry, and a want for answers. The answer she is specifically looking for is if she may have, in so many ways, killed her father. While Alice searches for clues about why her dad missed his flight and crashed his car, her sister and mother face Frank’s passing in their own ways.

Samantha Williams, who portrayed Alice, did a wonderful job encompassing the unknowing and innocence of a young grief stricken teen. Her vocals were pure and clean, capturing the child-like longing for her father in every ballad. Skylar Volpe played Kate, the stubborn, rebellious older sister. She played Kate with humor and nonchalance—until Kate breaks and you realize that portrayal is a front. I could go on about how wonderful each member of the cast sounded, their vocals in general, the beautiful harmonies, but I must move on to the next.

My favorite aspect of this play was most definitely the set design. Todd Rosenthal created an astounding set. The moving pieces transformed each scene into its own location. I would not doubt seeing the already Tony, and Laurence Olivier awarded set designer add to his collection for this set.

One aspect of this show that I had a hard time with leaving the theater was the lack of climax and resolution. I do understand grief is not linear, and does lack resolution, but the end of this performance was somewhat abrupt. I had hoped for the characters to be built out a bit more, for me to get a peek at their true feelings for longer than a glimpse in a short number. I wanted more solemn moments as comedy was sprinkled throughout the entirety. Those were the only aspects that took away from the feeling of full immersion.

Overall, this musical is worth going to see. There was not a moment where I found myself looking away from the stage; I was always excited to see what would happen next. If you are into self-help literature, this might be a performance to get your gears turning. You will have to go view, and see what your perception is of Life After you leave the theater.

Recommended

Reviewed by Rachel Robbins

Runs from June 11 – July 17, 2022 in Goodman’s Albert Theatre

More information and tickets can be found here.

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