Geoff Davis-El/Photo: N. Warren Winter
Elmer Rice, nee Reizenstein, received the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for his realistic profile of inner-city tenement dwellers. Directors Laurence Bryan and Keely Haddad-Null graft grotesque elements to the occasionally creaky script to dramatize the banal horror of crushing poverty, with mixed results.
The piece opens on a building’s inhabitants exchanging weather complaints as the conversation devolves to speculation about Mrs. Maurrant’s (Rebekka James) affair with the milkman (J.J. McDowell). Her daughter Rose (Melinda Ryba) fends off her married boss (Brian Peccia) while erstwhile would-be-lover Sam (Steve Wisegarver) fumes. The setup doesn’t require the ghostly figures floating through the set, stopping the action and foreshadowing already-detailed disasters.
James lacks the yearning for love and freedom the script is riddled with. Ryba and Wisegarver’s naturalism is refreshing, but they don’t nail the horror of the show’s climax. Though the show’s premiere was delayed, it still needs more time in the oven. (Lisa Buscani)
The National Pastime Theater with Clock Productions, 4139 N. Broadway, (773)327-7077, through May 8.
Related Stories
Anguish on Display: A Review of An Inspector Calls at Chicago Shakespeare Theater & The National Theatre of Great Britain This pristine British import is both an aesthetic curiosity and a clue to an expanded theatrical language beyond kitchen sink realism.- Sportsmanlike Conduct: A Review of His Shadow at 16th Street Theater A theatrical take on the controversy surrounding NFL players' protests against police violence during the national anthem over the last couple of seasons.
- Between a Saint and a Sinner: A Review of Good Enough at 16th Street Theater This simple but hardly straightforward world premiere finds one woman speaking her truth with honesty and self-reflection.
- You Can’t Beat the Clock: A Preview of Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s “Getting Old Sucks” at Ebenezer Lutheran Church A whole-hearted look at the ups and downs of growing older through a series of interwoven stories about this inevitable reality that connects us all.
- War, What Is It Good For: A Review of Harbur Gate at 16th Street Theater Ann Filmer and 16th Street Theater take on one of America's most time-honored professions: soldiering.
