Chuck Spencer, Marssie Mencotti, Jan Ellen Graves/Photo: Andrew Jessop
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Our routines are our havens; they’re also our prisons. Redtwist’s latest explores what happens when a man crosses from one to the other and desperately tries to fix his life.
Ken (Chuck Spencer) suffers a crisis of faith and leaves wife Nancy (Jan Ellen Graves) and his comfortable Nebraska life for a pastor-recommended change in routine-in London. He seeks and finds deeply needed enlightenment.
Pulitzer-winner Tracy Letts’ script captures the somnolent, day-to-day wordlessness that spurs Ken’s quest. Director Andrew Jessop’s staging, along with Christopher Kriz’s music and sound design and Christopher Burpee’s lighting design, astutely punctuate the journey. Spencer is genuine as a man shaken by this body shot to his foundation; Graves is heart-wrenching as a floundering solo spouse; her quiet breakdown as her mother-in-law’s caregiver is breathtaking. Together both actors gracefully illustrate a couple’s awkward switch hit to a devastating curve ball. (Lisa Buscani)
Redtwist Theatre, 1044 West Bryn Mawr, (773)728-7529. Through May 8.
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