Most likely this play works better in a very intimate setting. The Red Orchid seats 75. They did an environmental staging with the play being performed in various little spaces throughout the tiny venue. Seating was interspersed somewhat in different places in the performing area. My partner, a young lady, and I were so close to the portable bar we could have poured ourselves drinks. I felt like we were eavesdropping on the characters in the play. It's a short, 90-minute one-acter. Kirsten Fitzgerald (a very formidable, A-list character actor in Chicago) was fierce as Annette. When she disclosed how she was supplementing her income, I definitely believed her.
Evening at the Talk House has been a big success in Chicago. Every performance has been a sell-out. Maybe Chicagoans are so inured to the constant violence around us that we are willing to embrace a play which seems to celebrate cruelty. I'm glad I saw it, although I'm not sure I liked it. However, my partner is on the side of all you guys who posted -- he hated this play. |
