What is That? Funny, Sexy and Deep

With a title like Pussy Sludge you wouldn’t be wrong expecting an erotic comedy that steps far over the line of the ordinary; and this production of Gracie Garner’s award-winning play handily delivers the sex and the laughs – often coming together – under the simmering direction of AVA CALABRESE GROB.

You might not expect, however, to be peeled from laughter into gasps of hope or heartache and back again.

Pussy Sludge is a darkly comic, erotic dreamscape of discovery and transformation, of wrestling with our nauseating, sludge-y self until we can (hopefully) stop mourning and break free from a self-imposed paralysis to live out in the open.

From the moment the audience enters, the space establishes a physical opposition between the fantastical swamp and the industrial mundane, presented through a structure that serves double duty as a watch-tower and a mood-ring of a light house. Between the two worlds hang sparkling tentacles that are both whimsical and unnerving as they break into the audience airspace. The inescapable intimacy of the play is heightened by the proximity of the actors, and by the two sections of the seating, face to face across the narrow stage.

Pussy Sludge (HANNAH OTTENFELD) arrives at the brink of adulthood wearing sleep shorts and a t-shirt emblazoned with “Fuck the Clock”. In a clever introduction to the journey PS flirts with over-the-top vamping, retreat, and fearful, ferocious lashing out. PS embodies the angst filled battle between the terrible vulnerability of being seen, and the abysmal solace of invisibility. OTTENFELD is a master of dance and it shows; every movement is consummately expressive in this physically demanding role. She carries us unfalteringly through sexual wild abandon, tentative connection, and desperate physical and psychological battles for freedom.

Rachel, Pussy Sludge’s mom, is larger than life while being completely believable. CAROLYN HOERDEMANN makes the most of every minute, netting the audience and PS with her whiskey-throated, “Honey!” In her presence Pussy Sludge is instantly younger, full of the teenage maelstrom of rebellion, embarrassment and need. The two feed off each other dynamically.

Courtney (SENECCA SIMS), a goth Tinkerbelle, effortless captivates both Pussy Sludge and the audience with her alternating persona of seductress and girl-next-door. She is at once matter-of-fact and intuitively gentle. She is a guide and muse for Pussy Sludge’s journey, but with her own path of transformation. As their situationship climaxes into crisis SIMS achieves a rending vocal manifestation of pure pain.

During one achingly tender and grotesquely funny scene Pussy Sludge and Courtney enter a symbolic intimacy, with Courtney rolling up her metaphorical sleeves to take on the dirty work of penetrating the sludge; the ultimate act of acceptance. Pussy Sludge’s anticipation is a palpable struggle between desire and the fear of rejection.

Comedy is serious work, and this ensemble brings it all. Of note is the would-be suitor R.J. (LAYKE FOWLER) who masterfully hits every laugh while on his own deep meanderings. The perky/pesky Becca (MICAELA VOIT) lisps in and out, consistently bringing the chuckles but never the cookies. And the love-sick ranger Adam (DANNY TUREK) makes us laugh through his tears. Josephine (EDWINA LUOKKALA-BURCKHARDT) shines brightest when she brings her mean-girl super ego to battle with the id of Pussy Sludge, breaking down into an unforgettable version of ‘dueling banjos’ that had the audience roaring.

The glittery sludge is a modern Greek chorus and Great Mother moving between nurturance and vengeance. They writhe and surge, growl and cry, creep and capture – responding to Pussy Sludge and the proverbial stones cast against them. The sludge is OF Pussy Sludge, but is it theirs? Is it helping Pussy Sludge or does it harbor its own impenetrable motives? In one tense sequence amorphous forms beat out an increasingly violent rhythm, a demand made even more terrifying by its inscrutability. In a series of escalations it becomes clear that the mass is dangerously explosive – even to Pussy Sludge themselves.

The show runs approximately two hours. There are some exchanges that could be tightened up and the dance sequences could be trimmed without diminishing the experience.

That said, Pussy Sludge just might be something to experience more than once – there is so much happening simultaneously it’s impossible to capture it all. Sometimes that is complimentary action like the reactions of the sludge or the observing characters. Sometimes a contrasting juxtaposition is the purpose; as when Sebastian (JAKE FLUM) waxes on about his own love to an enthralled Adam, while Courtney and Pussy Sludge break our hearts, and theirs, without a word.

Will Pussy Sludge break free, or will she be consumed by her own swamp? Is it too late? Can we take up the t-shirt and “Fuck the Clock” we set on our own liberation?

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Soleil Rodrigue

All performances are at the Facility Theater, 1138 N. California Ave, Chicago IL 60622

Show dates are March 6 through April 5. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30.

Tickets are available for a $25 donation by going to www.facilitytheatre.org

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