RECOMMENDED
Rohina Malik’s one-woman rumination on racism and religious intolerance, a hit at 16th Street Theater last spring, returns to Victory Gardens. The piece profiles five Muslim women dealing with post- 9/11 fallout. A dress designer refuses to design wedding gowns; a lawyer recounts the loss of a lover; a British rapper indicts her family’s racism; a restaurateur requires her patrons to sit next to strangers; an African-American woman defends her decision to “revert” to Islam and to surrender her head covering to avoid violence. Each monologue reveals a different aspect of Middle Eastern or Muslim culture, from tea recipes to wedding customs.
Director Ann Filmer keeps the pacing brisk; Timothy Spencer’s scenic design showcases beautiful fabrics and intriguing silhouettes. Malik’s opening performance seemed rushed, blowing through opportunities for important pauses. But each well-crafted story offers audiences the opportunity to learn and feel. You can’t ask more of a show than that. (Lisa Buscani)
At Victory Gardens, 2433 North Lincoln, (773)871-3000. Through April 4.
Related Stories
Disassembling the System: A Review of Pipeline at Victory Gardens Dominique Morisseau returns to Chicago with an urgent new play that maps the direct route from education to incarceration for America's youth of color.- Thirst Entrapment: A Review of Rightlynd at Victory Gardens Theater The first of three world premieres by Ike Holter scheduled for this season is also the thirstiest play he's ever written. And that's saying something.
- Apprehensive Experience: A Review of Lettie at Victory Gardens Theater In producing this play about prison and societal reintegration, Victory Gardens Theater unconsciously traffics in some of the racial dynamics that prop up the prison system.
- Histories Repeating: A Review of If I Forget at Victory Gardens Theater This new play from Steven Levenson sees the past and present as a continuum of conflict.
- Sweet and Savored: A Review of Tiny Beautiful Things at Victory Gardens Based on the book by "Dear Sugar" columnist Cheryl Strayed, this attentive adaptation showcases the eternally-complicated task of being a person.
