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Regional Reviews: Chicago Head of Passes
The first act of this rather short play (just two hours including an intermission) is written in the style of a mid-20th century American family drama. We first meet Creaker (Ron Cephas Jones), the houseman of the inn, and he's employed his naïve son Crier (Kyle Beltran) to assist as a waiter. Creaker warns Crier not to refer to the eggs as "deviled," as Shela is such a devout Christian she doesn't want to hear the Devil's name spoken even in that context. The guests arrive, beginning with the warm and funny friend Mae (a delightful Jacqueline Williams), her responsible son Aubrey (Glenn Davis), her doctor (Tim Hopper), her younger, less responsible son (James T. Alfred), and her obviously troubled daughter Cookie (Alana Arenas). Characters are introduced, backstories are revealed and the rain leaks into the living room so badly the characters remark that it's like being outside. We learn that Shela is a loyal and proud woman who never wanted to be in the hospitality business but has kept the guesthouse operating since the death of her husband. And she won't leave the house, despite the entreaties of her sons and Mae and despite the storm upon them. With the doctor's visit, we also learn of Shela's illness. A crisis occurs at the end of the first act, and during intermission more crises occur. These offstage events are recounted by characters who observed them. We then see how the righteous Shela struggles to understand the misfortunes her God has sent her way—as the program notes state, Shela is a modern day Job. McCraney makes this parallel clearly, but somehow he fails to get us fully invested in Shela. This is no fault of the director Tina Landau and especially not of actress Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Bruce gives an astonishing and complex performance as Shela—warm yet stern, stubborn but playful, strong but riddled with fear. She's a force of nature you believe could stand down the storm itself, and she gives a performance not to be missed. There's not a weak link in the supporting cast either, with Alana Arenas a particular standout as Shela's drug-addicted daughter. But, though McCraney's characters are likable (except for Arenas's) and engaging, his setting intriguing, and his words poetic and insightful, I didn't get sufficiently invested in Shela as a character to feel her crisis directly. The problem for me is that, in the first act, we see her at a distance—much of what we learn of her is told to us by other characters and they see her as stubborn and unreasonably devout even as she's kind and generous. We don't really get inside of her head but instead see her from the outside. The perspective changes in the second act, much of which is taken up with Shela's monologues, but by then she's in the midst of her crises and it's too late to fully share her agony. There's an abundance of talent on display here, between McCraney's thoughtful and heartfelt words, the consistently fine nine-person cast and David Gallo's set—a realistic guest house that makes an astonishing transformation. But McCraney's inability to make us feel what Shela feels—to create empathy rather than just sympathy—makes Head of Passes more an intellectual experience than the visceral one it might be. Head of Passes will play the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted, through June 9, 2013. Jon Michael Hill will play Crier from May 21 —June 9. For tickets, visit the Box Office or www.steepenwolf.org, or call 312-335-1650.
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