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2011, 05-22:
Review of play: “A TWIST OF WATER”
... Once upon a time, a white homosexual doctor named Richard Brennan (if I recall correctly) started going with a history teacher named Noah Calder (STEF TOVAR) & became his partner / husband...
... Richard, with Stef’s agreement, decided to ADOPT a Black American baby girl named Jira (played by FALASHAY PEARSON), & the 2 guys happily raised her together (& Stef later co-adopted her)...
... At one point, Richard was involved in a CAR ACCIDENT in Michigan. Deeply upset by the occurrence, Stef acted in a thoughtless way when he & Falashay went to the hospital to see Richard, & when he died there, Falashay never really “forgave” Stef for his treatment at that time...
... Now 17 years old, Falashay is a “handful” to deal with, regularly taking a car & running off from Stef’s home, which deeply disturbs him (as he tells her in cell phone messages & the like)...
... Falashay (a very bright girl & good student) has decided she wants to try to meet her BIRTH MOTHER she’s never known, to learn a bit about her “background”... That idea is distasteful to Stef, who feels it’ll lead to her being even more distressed & DIFFICULT to deal with...
... Since Richard’s death, Stef (39) has grown close to a younger (26-year-old) gay English teacher named Liam Pirro (ALEX HUGH BROWN) who has Falashay for a student... Alex is quite “at-ease” with the difference in ages between him & Stef, but Stef finds it hard to “cope with”...
... Alex has a very “dry” wit, & regularly tries to make his “points” with HUMOR to both Falashay about her poor schoolwork & to Stef about his discomfort with their connection...
... The story goes back-&-forth between the various relationships, which eventually includes Falashay’s efforts to meet her MOTHER Tia (LILI-ANNE BROWN)...
... Will Falashay keep “BLAMING” Stef for how badly she feels over Richard’s death?... Will she be able to get Stef to help her locate her mom?... Will Stef relax enough to accept his bond with Liam?... Will Falashay keep being ANTAGONISTIC to Stef & Liam & to their growing relationship?...
... All thru the play, Stef “frames” the story in the midst of telling some of the history of CHICAGO, how it grew greatly in the early 1800’s & then, after 37 years of being a City, it lost 2/3rds of its buildings due to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871...
... We learn of the efforts to get the World Columbian Exposition fair in 1893, its growth after that, its WEATHER & people, etc. Helping move the story along are very effective projections done onto the scenery constructed onstage...
... I (& seemingly all of the audience) found the play to be EXCELLENTLY done, with exceptional performances by the main characters...
... It has an unusually fine SCRIPT (by CAITLIN MONTANYE & direction by ERICA WEISS), combining loads of very FUNNY dialogue (mainly provided by Liam’s understated character) with very SERIOUS subjects of sexual and “home” relationships, the difficulties in trying to bring a possibly-unwilling “NEW” person (namely, Falashay’s birth mother) into the “picture”, and so on...
... With the exceptional writing and unusually strong acting (by all the highly-delineated characters, including Falashay in her 1st professional performance), I’m rating this at 9.0 out of 10 stars...
... AFTER the performance, I complimented Stef & Liam on their fine work. They agreed with me it was unusual to find such a rich SCRIPT to act in, with its combination of both humor and profound elements (& they were very pleased to be PART of it all)...
... The play (from the Route 66 Theatre Company) is at the MERCURY THEATER (3745 N Southport Ave. in Chicago; 773-325-1700; http://www.mercurytheaterchicago.com/ ). It was attended by then-mayor-to-be Emanuel, & his presence & the strongly-favorable critical reviews have led to it’s being EXTENDED thru JUNE 26th...
... Also, Mercury is having a “read-thru” of a possible new production about musical star FANNY BRICE (subject of the “FUNNY GIRL” movies) at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, May 25th. It is FREE to the public (on a “first come” basis)...
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