Newcity Stage

Theater, Dance, Comedy and Performance in Chicago

Review: Kingsville/Stage Left

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by Lisa Buscani
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Parenthood is a vulnerable state; every day parents send sons and daughters into an unsafe world. While “Kingsville” adequately dramatizes that helplessness, it does nothing with it.

James (John Ferrick) has lost his wife in a school shooting, but challenges Wayne’s (John Arthur Lewis) plan to arm local students. His campaign causes son Justin (Andrew Raia) to be a target of school bullying and to seek Wayne’s help. From there, the piece spins out of control, incorporating jarring twists to make its point.

Stephen Carmody’s scenic design cleverly uses an oversized building façade to present the school/youth center at the piece’s controversial core. Andrew Hinderaker’s well-intentioned script deals with compelling questions, but his plot approaches the implausible to answer them. Ferrick and Lewis capably present parents struggling to protect their young; young actors Raia and Nick DiLeonardi capture teen angst and stand out against the muddled narrative and truncated ending. (Lisa Buscani)

Stage Left Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont, (773)975-8150. Through November 21.

  • Viktor1109

    I saw Kingsville this past Friday and thought it was extremely compelling. I’m not sure what parts of the play Lisa had trouble with, but I thought, once you accept the initial premise of a genuine movement to allow kids to bear arms in school, the rest of the story flowed naturally from there. The two kids were especially good. So I completely disagree with this review. I’ve recommended the play to friends and will continue to do so. It’s a really thought-provoking and entertaining piece of theatre.

  • Rickthefightguy

    I am with Viktor on this one. This was an extremely compelling show. John Ferrick is brilliant, leading a cast without a weak spot. The show itself was very well-crafted. It would have been easy for the writer to cop out with an easy, forced answer to the issue but instead manages to walk the line of making us think about the issue without forcing an answer. In fact, that is my real disagreement with Lisa’s review – she says that the plot ‘reaches the implausible to answer’ the questions, but I think it hit a perfect balance in order _not_ to definitively answer them, but rather to allow us to spend the next week trying to come to our own personal answers.

    I strongly recommend this show.