RECOMMENDED
Money can’t buy love, but it can buy the security that makes love a bit easier. Dennis Kelly’s latest traces the decline of a relationship in reverse; his dense, unflinching monologues capture a couple’s struggle to survive.
Burdened by credit card debt, David (Peter Moore) leaves teaching to take a stressful job in sales as his wife Jess (Julia Siple) succumbs slowly to the painful world around her. Their hardship devastates her parents (Molly Reynolds and Jason Michael Lindner) and makes them a target for David’s venal ex (Darci Nalepa).
Kelly’s narrative is choppy but brave enough to capture both his characters’ heart and selfish materialism. Director Robin Witt’s staging can be static and awkward but she never loses sight of the piece’s big picture. The ensemble is uniformly excellent, mastering the muscular language and astutely portraying the characters’ affable vulnerability as well as the ugliness the world instills. (Lisa Buscani)
Love and Money, Steep Theatre, 1115 West Berwyn, (866)811-4111. Through February 25.
Related Stories
Beast or Burden: A Review of First Love is the Revolution at Steep Theatre Blood, lust and love coalesce in the poignant personification of this Midwest premiere.- Love is in the Cards: A Review of Hoodoo Love at Raven Theatre No magic is required to fall in love with Katori Hall's singular play, masterfully directed by Wardell Julius Clark.
- A Signal In The Noise: A Review of Birdland at Steep Theatre The U.S. premiere of Simon Stephens' new play at Steep Theatre is an uncompromising vision of toxic masculinity, celebrity culture and the global marketplace.
- Swiss Miss: A Review of Zürich at Steep Theatre Structured as a series of vignettes across a range of contemporary issues, this Midwest premiere at Steep Theatre puts increasing distance between itself and its audience.
- Give Up The Ghost: A Review of Hinter at Steep Theatre Steep Theatre presents the world premiere of Calamity West's haunting true-crime story about unsolved homicides in Bavaria after World War I.
