Madeline Long and Joel Ewing/Photo: Sebastian Aguirre
It is not that LiveWire Chicago Theatre’s production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Wonder of the World” is bad. If only it were that easy. The problem is that many of the actors are just too young for their roles. Pace and timing in this well-constructed comedy is pretty sharp but I found myself wanting the whacked-out characters to exude a little more life experience. The story follows Cass Harris (Madeline Long) as she flees her mundane life married to Kip (Joel Ewing), a buttoned-up protector type with a secret fetish. She makes her way to Niagara Falls and into a web of suicide, private investigators and a very special tour-boat captain. Cass and Kip have been married for seven years and I just did not get that. Both leads play the characters’ neurosis with charm but much of the show’s maturity feels manufactured. (William Scott)
LiveWire Chicago Theatre at The Side Project Theater, 1439 W. Jarvis, (312)533-4666, through April 5.
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