Steppenwolf Theater
Look at that pretty set by Scott Pask first.
Going to Broadway, worked out in Chicago first.
In light of this going to Broadway, I think it's big enough, but it's a strange fit for the Broadway lights. I predict a shorter run. It's not that it isn't good (it is) it's just that it's odd. I think it is a great fit for where we saw it, top-notch regional theater. It would be great at The Alliance in Atlanta, for instance. I don't know if it can take the competition of 100 other performances an evening. Well, time will tell on that count.
Now, about the play. It is mostly about those fragile communities that exist at the edge, under hardship conditions. It is also about how a seemingly temporary community can become a permanent one (think refugee camps, housing projects, rent-by-the-week motels).
One of my favorite moments in the play that is based on a pre-funeral (an older member is dying but has not died yet) for a long-time member of the community has to do with the structure of the play. The group is hosting and planning the funeral and an ex-member of the group returns, a man who got out by marrying an older, wealthier woman and he brings with him his step-daughter who is a true outsider to the group. So, you have: group, former member and outsider as the structure. It is good work that it is not just two-fold, but three-fold. Anyway, the former member, Baitboy, relies on the community being there, being a place he can return to when he wants to. A member turns that around and asks, basically, if the community can show up at his fancy, new door for help when it needs it. Does relying on one another still go both ways? And, it doesn't. His foothold out is so precarious and his escape is based on shaking off the old, so it can't. He's made it out, but that means releasing those ties. He is, unfairly, still able to return to the community. It is true and interesting and uncomfortable.
The play opens after intermission with a grand, Broadway-quality scene in Act II as we begin the pre-funeral party. The first act has been mostly background, setting and party preparation. And, this is quite a party. It was entirely enjoyable that these are mostly entertainment professionals, people who serve a year-long party for vacationers. And, finally you get to see the servants of the entertainment industry at their own party, which they do very well. It is a loving and generous party. They don't have to be wild, they know what to do. This is a party's party.
Part of the play comes down to "How did all these people end up here?" Is it a series of bad luck? Bad decisions? Where they come from? Can they escape? Should they? What would escape look like? Are they actually where they want to be? Baitboy has escaped, but it is a precarious life and he is in some ways alone. Everyone has to come to their own conclusions here.
One bit that was left unexplained is how a working stripper could be so poor, without any money at all. She can't even afford her own room in this play, and it is cheap. Is she a bad stripper? Too much competition? Not a good club? Because I thought strippers made more money than that, but perhaps I am wrong. Wait, I just googled it. This part of the story, post-Google, makes absolutely no sense. We have a stripper who is supposedly good at her job who isn't visibly using drugs and she has absolutely no money? What?
Anyway, it was an enjoyable night at the theater. I'm curious about how the Broadway run will go. I guess it comes down to this. This is a $65-75 night, not a $125 night because the subject matter is too serious for Broadway, the show not quite grandiose enough, even with a "bigger" name taking over one of the main parts. So, we'll see. I'll be interested to watch its journey. We are glad we saw it, though.
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