Displaying items by tag: Shattered Globe Theatre

Chicago theatre‑goers have one of those rare, golden weekends where three very different companies are all firing at full power—each offering a production that hits a different part of the theatrical appetite: the intimate and unsettling, the bold and idea‑driven, and the emotionally classic. Together, Morning, Noon & Night, Pot Girls, and Come Back, Little Sheba create a kind of unofficial citywide festival of what Chicago does best: fearless storytelling, muscular performances, and theatre that actually has something to say.

Shattered Globe’s Morning, Noon & Night at Theater Wit

Shattered Globe has a knack for plays that sit right on the fault line between the personal and the political, and Morning, Noon & Night is exactly that kind of pressure cooker. It’s a story about a family unraveling in real time—funny, raw, and painfully recognizable. What makes it worth your weekend:

• Shattered Globe’s ensemble brings a lived‑in authenticity that makes the play’s emotional turns land with force.
• Theater Wit’s intimacy means you’re close enough to feel every shift in temperature between characters.
• The play’s themes—identity, addiction, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive—hit with contemporary urgency.

If you want theatre that feels like eavesdropping on a family at the exact moment everything changes, this is the one.

The Story Theatre’s Pot Girls at Raven Theatre

Directed by Ayanna Bria Bakari and written by Paul Michael Thomson, Pot Girls is the kind of world premiere Chicago audiences love to claim before it blows up elsewhere. It’s smart, messy, feminist, stoned, and deeply theatrical—an intertextual riff on Top Girls that stands entirely on its own.

Why it’s essential this weekend:

• It’s a Chicago world premiere—the kind of bold, idea‑driven new work our storefront scene is known for.
• The ensemble is electric, with performances that swing from hilarious to gut‑punching without losing momentum.
• It’s in conversation with Raven’s Top Girls, making it a rare chance to see two plays talk to each other across stages, eras, and feminist generations.
• Ayanna Bria Bakari’s direction keeps the play sharp, surprising, and emotionally alive.

If you want theatre that’s playful, political, and buzzing with creative energy, Pot Girls is the weekend’s must‑see.

American Blues Theater’s Come Back, Little Sheba

American Blues excels at reviving American classics with a clarity and compassion that makes them feel startlingly present. Come Back, Little Sheba is no museum piece—it’s a bruising, beautifully observed portrait of longing, regret, and the fragile hope that life might still change.

Reasons to go now:

• American Blues’ signature naturalism gives the play a heartbreaking immediacy.
• The production highlights the emotional intelligence of William Inge’s writing, revealing layers often lost in more traditional stagings.
• It’s a rare chance to see a mid‑century classic performed with the nuance and psychological depth it deserves.

If you’re craving a production that’s emotionally rich and quietly devastating, this is the one that will stay with you long after curtain.

It’s a weekend that shows the full spectrum of what this city’s stages can do—new work, re‑examined classics, and intimate ensemble‑driven storytelling. If you’re the kind of theatre‑goer who likes to feel plugged into the pulse of the city, this is the weekend to lean in.

Kirsten Greenidge’s Morning, Noon & Night, currently receiving its Midwestern premiere at Shattered Globe Theatre, is an ambitious, mind-bending exploration of the “new normal” in post-pandemic America. Greenidge, a playwright unafraid of tonal hybridity, situates her story at the uneasy intersection of middle-class and magical realism. Under AmBer Montgomery’s direction, the production attempts to navigate the landscape of family connection, digital surveillance, and the psychic fragmentation wrought by living life through digital screens.

The play unfolds over the course of a single day in the life of Mia, a work-from-home mother teetering on the edge of burnout. Kristin E. Ellis anchors the production with a performance that captures both the brittle humor and simmering desperation of a woman expected to hold everything together. Her Mia is perpetually toggling—between Zoom meetings and grocery lists, between maternal patience and private panic. Ellis embodies the quiet terror of a generation of women asked to endure the unendurable with a smile.

Opposite her, Emefa Dzodzomenyo gives Dailyn a restless, electric presence. As the hyper-aware Gen Z daughter oscillating between existential dread and a yearning for authentic connection, Dzodzomenyo resists caricature. Her Dailyn is sharp, wounded, and achingly perceptive—someone who has inherited not only climate anxiety and algorithmic pressure but also the emotional residue of her mother’s exhaustion.

The supporting cast deepens the sense of a household under strain. Christina Gorman’s Heather, Mia’s friend and confidant, functions as both comic relief and quiet warning sign—her lingering pandemic anxieties and conspiratorial asides suggest how prolonged fear can harden into identity. Hannah Antman and Soren Jimmie Williams lend a jittery immediacy to Nat and Chloe, capturing the skittish vulnerability of teens shaped by social media’s relentless gaze. That said, both performers read slightly younger than I imagined the characters to be, which subtly shifts the dynamic; their portrayals emphasize innocence and volatility over the more self-aware cynicism often associated with girls of that age.

The production’s most striking presence is Leslie Ann Sheppard as Miss Candice, a “Donna Reed  - Father Knows Best” AI-generated avatar of curated perfection who steps out of the algorithm and into the family’s living room. Sheppard’s performance is chilling in its serenity. With a voice that soothes and a gaze that scans, Miss Candice represents not simply technology but the seductive promise of optimized living—an influencer deity promising order amid chaos. Her presence pushes the play from realism into something more speculative, even dystopian.

Jackie Fox’s set and lighting design effectively ground the story in its post-pandemic malaise. The living room, cluttered yet aspirational, feels very lived-in and slightly unraveling. The use of projections is particularly striking; at times the audience feels as though it is peering through a phone screen. Notifications flicker, curated images intrude, and the boundary between the digital and the tangible dissolves. The design serves as a digital mirror—reflecting how social media refracts reality rather than simply documenting it.

Yet for all its thematic ambition, the production occasionally exposes a disconnect between script and staging. Greenidge clearly has much to say about female rage, consumerism, intergenerational trauma, and the violence of constant connectivity. However, Montgomery’s direction seems to engage these ideas primarily at a surface level, with moments of genuine thematic revelation passing too quickly to fully resonate. The result can feel unintentionally algorithmic—significant insights obscured beneath repetitive beats.

Moreover, despite the performances and the evocative design, the stakes never quite rise to meet the play’s expansive conceptual ambitions. Whether this disconnect stems from the script, or the direction is difficult to determine, but the result is the same: the looming threat of digital colonization and familial fracture hover suggestively rather than landing with decisive impact. The danger feels atmospheric instead of urgent, diffuse rather than devastating.

Morning, Noon & Night offers a portrait of contemporary anxiety, capturing the low-grade dread of a culture caught between the longing for authentic connections and the seductive pull of curated isolation. Like the screens it interrogates, the play pulses and glitches—at times mesmerizing, at times disquieting—but always insistently present, morning, noon & night.

RECOMMENDED

When: through March 28th

Where: Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Running Time: 90 minutes no intermission

Tickets:  $20  -  $60

773-770-0333

www.sgtheatre.org/season-35/morning-noon-night

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

Shattered Globe’s 35th season continues with the Midwest Premiere of Morning, Noon, and Night, a mind-bending exploration of teens, family, surveillance, and connection in a post-pandemic world by Obie Award-winning playwright Kirsten Greenidge, directed by SGT Associate Artistic Director AmBer Montgomery.

Previews start February 13. Performances run through March 28 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets, on sale now, are $20-$60. For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org. For the latest updates, follow @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram. 

It’s hard raising a teenager. For Mia and her daughter, Dailyn, it’s not going smoothly. They both want everything to be perfect when older sister Alex comes home for her birthday. But when an unsettling visitor steps out of the algorithm, their best laid plans glitch into pure chaos. Reality blurs in this sharp and stirring drama about how the “new normal” is pretty weird.

“Morning, Noon, and Night is exactly right for this moment, as we navigate life after 2020,” said director AmBer Montgomery. “I hope this production provides a space to reflect on who we’ve become since the world shifted, to laugh at ourselves, to grieve what was lost, and to imagine how we can continue to care for one another as we step into an uncertain future. Through Kristen Greenidge’s extraordinary writing, through lots of magic and the wisdom of youth, this story reminds us of our resilience and the enduring strength of community. I am so honored to share it with Chicago.” 

Shattered Globe’s cast for Morning, Noon, and Night features SGT Ensemble Members Christina Gorman (she/her) as Heather and Leslie Ann Sheppard (she/her) as Miss Candice, with Hannah Antman (they/she) as Nat, Emefa Dzodzomenyo (she/her) as Dailyn, Kristin E. Ellis (she/her) as Mia and Soren Jimmie Williams (she/her) as Chloe.

The production team includes Jackie Fox (set/lighting designer), Kotryna Hilko (costume designer), Abboye Lawrence (projections designer), Persephone Lawrence-Wescott (props designer), Stephon Dorsey (sound designer), Sydni Charity Solomon (assistant director), Ariel Beller (stage manager), Emily Nicholas (assistant stage manager) and SGT Ensemble Member Adam Schulmerich (production manager).

Morning, Noon, and Night premiered at Company One Theatre in Boston in April 2024. Shattered Globe’s is the second production of Greenidge’s timely new play.

Ticket information for Morning, Noon, and Night

The first preview of Morning, Noon, and Night on Friday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. is Pay-What-You-Can. Previews continue Saturday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, February 15 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through March 28: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Friday, February 20. There’s an added 3 p.m. matinee on closing day, Saturday, March 28. Run time is 95 minutes with no intermission

For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org, call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchase in person at Theater Wit. Take advantage of early-bird discounts. Otherwise, previews are $25. Performances are $20-$60 ($20 for students, veterans, active military, teachers, and under 30; $40 general admission; $60 for those who want to support accessible theater). For group discounts, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (773) 770-0333.

Access Services

Audio Description and a Touch Tour for patrons who are blind or have low vision will be offered on Friday, March 20. The Touch Tour begins at 6:15 p.m. Show at 7:30 p.m. 

Shattered Globe will offer a captioned performance on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m. for patrons with hearing loss. Assisted Listening Devices are available for all performances.

Theater Wit is wheelchair accessible. All patrons with disability needs are invited to purchase $20 access tickets with the code “ACCESS20” at Theater Wit’s checkout page. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ensure the theater can reserve the right seat for your needs.

What a treat to have two of Evanston-native Sarah Ruhl’s plays running concurrently at Theatre Wit. Alongside the Shattered Globe Theatre’s Midwest premier of Ruhl’s Becky Nurse of Salem is Remy Bumppo’s production of Dear Elizabeth. Directed by Christina Casano, this epistolary play has all the elements that make Ruhl’s plays so enjoyable.

Dear Elizabeth is an intimate play that explores the letters between two of the world’s most celebrated poets: Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop. Ruhl crafts a tender narrative out of the beautifully written letters, and it’s wonderfully acted by Christopher Sheard and Leah Karpel.

Sarah Ruhl is one of America’s most popular playwrights because of her unique brand of quirky storytelling. Through her inventive style audiences who may not be familiar with the poets will walk away with more than just a book report. Though, this play will certainly tickle classic literature enthusiasts. The 90-minute play is crackling with trivia and humorous hot takes.

The dialogue in Dear Elizabeth may be contained to letters, but the contents of those letters whisk audiences all over the world. Both poets did extensive traveling during their careers, with Elizabeth Bishop residing in Brazil for some years. Through their words we get rich descriptions of where these characters are in their lives physically but more importantly emotionally. Though the romantic throughline is a bit mirky (as is often the case in life), the deep love between them is palpable.

Staging and visuals are important aspects of Ruhl’s work. Seeing how she sees her story, and seeing how a director and set designer interprets her vision are as moving as the words themselves. Catalina Niño’s design for Dear Elizabeth is nothing short of gorgeous. Though minimal in nature, the emotions certain moments conjure are haunting.

Dear Elizabeth is also a celebration of the art of letter writing. This is a theme Ruhl has touched on in other works as well. We may be living in the most advanced age of communication, but so much is lost in emojis and brief text messages. In these heartfelt letters there’s such depth and substance that you’re nearly envious of their loyal friendship.

If it’s Sarah Ruhl you’re after this season, look no further than Theatre Wit in Lakeview. Two of Chicago’s most esteemed companies impeccably bring her riveting works to life. Dear Elizabeth is a great showcase of Ruhl’s earlier style whereas Becky Nurse of Salem feels more like a new direction. And just like Robert and Elizabeth, they’re great companions.

Through November 17 at Remy Bumppo at Theater Wit. 1229 W Belmont Ave. (773) 975-8150
 

History is often said to be written by the victors, and few events illustrate this more clearly than the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Arthur Miller gave the historic event a new life in his 1953 allegorical play ‘The Crucible’. However, playwright Sarah Ruhl was piqued when she heard a story about Miller’s real inspiration for writing his classic play about neighborly betrayal. ‘Becky Nurse of Salem’ is Ruhl’s modern, humorous twist on the Salem Witch Trials.

Sarah Ruhl is one of the most popular American playwrights today. She has a knack for warmhearted, thought-provoking fantasies that showcase her highly creative storytelling approach. There’s no question ‘Becky Nurse’ has signature Sarah Ruhl elements, but in many ways this play is a departure–it’s angry.

Written during the Trump era, inspired by the eerie echoes of “Lock her up! Lock her up!”, ‘Becky Nurse of Salem’ is a bit of a blender of themes on modern American life. Becky is an unhappy 63-year-old woman giving tours of a dusty Salem Witch Trial museum. She’s a descendent of the real Rebecca Nurse who was executed during the Salem Witch Trials and to keep herself entertained; she tells tour groups “the real story” until her uptight boss lets her go. She’s also caring for her troubled granddaughter after her mother dies of an overdose. Becky is very lonely and takes comfort in opiods.

While this may not sound like the makings of a comedy, Ruhl’s play finds relatability in Becky Nurse. Afterall, who among us isn’t angry? Who isn’t outraged by the fact that over 300 years later, we haven’t fully learned the lessons of the Salem Witch Trials? Becky Nurse, is like all of us, flawed, and often unlovable but with her heart in the right place.

Shattered Globe Theatre brings ‘Becky Nurse of Salem’ to the Midwest after a 2022 Off-Broadway production. Directed by Ruhl’s longtime friend and collaborator, Polly Noonan, this revival feels like love is sewn into every hem. Leading the ensemble cast is Linda Reiter as Becky. Her performance fully embodies what it means to just be tired of the B.S. Her spiritual awakening is all the more earned by the play’s conclusion. And what’s a witch play without a little magic? SGT ensemble member Rebecca Jordan brings lightness to the darkness of the play with her rubbery affects and far out delivery as a real-life witch. Her scenes with Linda Reiter are some of the most fun to watch.

While watching ‘Becky Nurse of Salem’ there really does seem like a lot going on, but it’s after the play that you’ll realize how masterfully Sarah Ruhl intertwines so many hot button issues. This is Ruhl’s most serious work, and it also feels like her most urgent. Just like Arthur Miller, Ruhl bends the history of the Salem Witch Trials to serve her dire warning, and just like ‘The Crucible’ is an exciting exploration of where we’ve come from and where we’re going. Unlike Miller though, Ruhl leaves us with optimism.

Through November 16 at Shattered Globe Theatre. 1229 W Belmont Ave. 773-975-8150

Shattered Globe did its dramaturgy research very well, in bringing us the Chicago premiere of “Flood,” Mashuq Mushtaq Deen’s very funny, very fresh and highly relevant script. And boy does he have a gift for dialog. It is good, complex, and funny, and charged with barrels of meaning below that surface. “Flood” reminded me for all the world of Harold Pinter or Caryl Churchill's ominous, absurdist theater works, with a quality that is very much in a league with these revered masters.

Though Deen says he eschews television, and writes for the stage, “Flood” opens with a vintage musical fanfare drawn right out of 1960s television programs.
As the lights come up we see a living room setting in classic mid century modern style - very nicely done by Lauren Nichols, set design - with late middle-aged Darren (H.B. Ward), pudgy and rotund, at his work table, wearing safety glasses and a strange mask as he assembles a wood craft project. Each piece is selected and put in place with elaborate arm flourishes, letting us know Darren is at work on an effort of the utmost importance.

His wife Edith (Linda Reiter) enters stage left, bearing a teapot, and standing silently many minutes, lest, we suspect, she break Darren's concentration. The dramatic tension delivered in this silent scene is considerable. Reiter and Ward deliver consummate performances that are the essence of what skillful acting is all about.

Eventually Edith withdraws, returning sometime later, again with a teapot. This time Daren notices her, and a conversation ensues, both innocent and frought. It sounds like any couple jousting: Darren accuses Edith of hiding from him, which she denies, noting that she is manifestly available, but that he just doesn’t notice her.

In the conversation, playwright Deen gradually increases the underlying tension in the scene, and their lives overall come into stark relief. We learn that they plan to share tea together, which Edith ardently wishes for, but Darren (H.B. Ward) says this can only happen in the future, when he finishes the great work in which he is involved at the table.

At this moment, the conversation has leapt into another dimension, as Edith queries when he will be finished.
“Add that to the book of unanswerable questions,” Darren says.
To which Edith replies, “You like me because I ask you unanswerable questions.”

Edith's pressure for Darren to finish and share tea with her elicits a vague indication from her husband that it will be “in the future.” Darren asks, “Would you deny me my dreams?” to which Edith asks, profoundly, “When will the future come?”

We eventually hear a discussion of the sex “in a parking lot” that led to their children, and later, we meet these children: Darren Junior (Carl Collins) and Edith Junior (Sarah Patin) who speak to their parents from their apartment by phone. The generational divide is expressed here, with trenchant relevance: the children are complaining of their suffering from the effects of the environmental crisis (flooding), while their parents live in a dream loop of denial, Edith all the while encouraging her offspring to look on the bright side of things. It's a conversation for the ages, and of the moment being replayed across America continuously.

“Flood” is both humorous, and a remarkable snapshot of intergenerational dynamics. And the play is mysterious as well. An intensely engaging 90 minutes perfectly cast and directed by Kenneth Prestininzi, who directed the world premiere in Kansas City as well. "Flood" runs through March 9 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.  

Arthur Miller’s perennial classic, ‘A View from the Bridge’, is revived in a faithful production at Shattered Globe Theater. Under the direction of Lou Contey, a cast of familiar Shattered Globe ensemble and a few new faces bring this powder keg of a tale to their stage for the first time since the 1990s.

Every few years, a landmark production of ‘A View from the Bridge’ comes—Chicagoans will remember Ivo Van Hove’s arresting production imported by Goodman in 2017. However, if that’s the only version you’ve seen, you owe it to yourself to see it staged in the way Arthur Miller intended.

Though it wasn’t exactly a smash hit when it debuted on Broadway in 1955, it was through subsequent rewrites and notable revivals that ‘A View from the Bridge’ became nearly as popular as more seminal Miller works like ‘The Crucible’ and ‘Death of a Salesman.’ Perhaps it’s produced so often because its themes surrounding immigration and prejudice remain relevant.

‘A View from the Bridge’ is about a longshoreman, Eddie Carbone (Scott Aiello), and his wife Beatrice (Eileen Niccolai), and their adopted niece Catherine (Isabelle Muthiah). Life is great for the working-class Brooklyn family until their distant relatives from Italy come to stay with them illegally. When a relationship starts to bud between immigrant Rodolpho (Harrison Weger) and Catherine, Eddie’s inappropriate affection for his niece is called into question.

This play has always been a star-turning vehicle for actresses playing Catherine. Scarlett Johanson and Brittany Murphy both took home Tonys for the role. However, Shattered Globe ensemble member Eileen Niccolai’s compelling performance as Beatrice brings the part of the pseudo-cuckolded wife into sharper focus. Niccolai’s Beatrice is vulnerable and needy; she knows her husband isn’t perfect, but he’s all she’s got. Ultimately, she’s the victim of this tragic story. There’s something so fragile about Niccolai’s interpretation.

Inventive staging by Shayna Patel puts the play in a set that looks like a boxing ring. It's a fitting locale for a play so centered around violence. The narrator is a lawyer and interjects an almost inhuman sense of foreboding doom about the Carbones throughout the play. In his view, and perhaps Miller’s greater view, society is so dysfunctional that it leads the lower classes to duke it out at the bottom. Unlike ‘The Crucible,’ Miller points out that having your name respected in the street is just machismo, especially when you’re not respectable.

Themes of toxic masculinity, immigration reform and family abuse are sadly more relevant now than in the 1950s, and the enduring popularity of ‘View from the Bridge’ should inspire activism.

Shattered Globe is one of Chicago’s best and longest-running storefront theatres and it’s easy to see why. Their briskly paced production of ‘A View From the Bridge’ is wonderfully acted, beautifully staged and very traditional. If you like classic American plays, this is the one to see.

Through October 21 at Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit. 1229 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657 | 773-975-8150

With the homecoming and family-visit season safely in the rear-view, Shattered Globe presents a new play by Rachel Bonds about the places we come from. “Five Mile Lake” is directed by Cody Estle, his first production with the company.

Bonds writes about a feeling that many city transplants can relate to all too well. “I can’t believe I managed to spend 18 years there,” she says of her small hometown in the stage notes. Though Bonds seems to have escaped small town life at a young age, her script is not a snobby look down her nose at small town America, in fact, it’s almost the opposite. There’s a longing for a perceived simplicity in this play. The irony is that no matter where you live, complexity is unavoidable.

‘Five Mile Lake’ is about five characters in a town outside Scranton, at the edge a frozen lake. The symbolism is not lost. Local coffee shop coworkers Mary (Daniela Colucci) and Jamie (Steve Peebles) live fairly uneventful lives until Jamie’s older brother returns with a new girlfriend and an open-ended visit.

In many ways, this is a retelling of Chekhov’s masterpiece ‘Uncle Vanya’. Mary and Jamie seem to toil endlessly in their dismal lives. Jamie works on a lake house his brother Rufus (Joseph Wiens) and girlfriend Peta (Aila Peck) are suddenly interested in when their impressive city-life turns to shambles. Mary is bogged down by a shell-shocked brother Danny (Drew Schad), all the while dreaming of a life outside Five Mile Lake. Between these desires for other circumstances are subtle, but wholly palpable, moments of truth.

Shattered Globe is an ensemble theater and most of their productions feature familiar faces. The result is a sense of intimacy between actors that translates to an audience. There’s a naturalistic cadence to Rachel Bonds’ dialogue too. Sometimes inside-jokes or silliness between characters seems contrived on stage. Whenever Daniela Colucci is in a scene, you feel like you’ve known her all your life. There’s something really authentic going on here. Estle gets great performances out of even the smallest, non-verbal moments of the play. A scene in which Rufus and Mary’s older brother Danny run into each other after years of estrangement is so fraught that just a searching look from Drew Schad is enough to break your heart.

“Five Mile Lake” is a prime example of why you should see new work. Sometimes it’s a gamble, but other times in the middle of an ordinary Sunday you find yourself completely invested in the problems fictional characters. You take them with you, because they are you.

Through February 24th at Shattered Globe Theatre. Theater Wit. 773-975-8150

Police brutality is nothing new. Having it broadcast on national news sources, however, is. The deep South in the 1960's wasn't a fun place to be if you were anything but a Christian Caucasian. Shattered Globe Theatre concludes its twenty-fifth season with Matt Pelfrey's adaptation of John Ball's best-selling novel "In the Heat of the Night." The film adaptation starring Sidney Poitier went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. 

Pelfrey's script keeps with the original time and setting, but adapts with a degree of hindsight. He's also good at keeping the pot boiling until the final conclusion, even if the dots don't exactly connect in the end. With the success of TV series like "Making a Murderer" and the podcast "Serial" - audiences can't get enough crime thrillers. What these all seem to have in common are police inadequacy. A disappointing trend among rural police forces. "In the Heat of the Night" tells the story of a small town reeling after a local real estate tycoon is murdered. The prejudiced, and largely incompetent law enforcement can't seem to find a suspect. After they accidentally profile an African American from out of town, they get help from an unlikely source. 

Louis Contey directs a large, and talented ensemble cast. Unfortunately the script is a bit clunky in parts. Too many entrances, exits and costume changes make for a puzzling caper. There's fun in the noir-esque stylings of Contey's vision, but it conflicts with the bigger themes this source material addressed. Character development suffers and the message of Ball's original novel gets a little muddled in empty one-liners and racial slurs. There's a major opportunity here to make biased police officers more three dimensional and Drew Schad as Sam Wood does his best to navigate the dialogue. Joseph Wiens' performance as Chief Gillespie is intense, but at times cartoonish. Christina Gorman as the victim's daughter is a high point, however brief. 

"In the Heat of the Night" is a sultry, and somewhat topical thriller. Its brevity and mathematical approach make for a satisfying murder mystery. What it occasionally lacks in substance it makes up for in exciting stage combat. An atmospheric who-dunnit, akin to "Twin Peaks." 

Through June 5th at Theatre Wit. 1229 W Belmont Ave. 773-975-8150.

In today’s culture of OnDemand and streaming entertainment, one has to wonder how theatre art will adapt. Accomplished playwright Jordan Harrison also currently writes for the hit Netflix series ‘Orange is the New Black.’ Nobody can argue that Mr. Harrison hasn’t mastered the one-hour drama format, but what we can argue is whether or not that form works in theatre. Often when audiences stand and applaud even poor performances, they’re standing to congratulate themselves, to say we did it! We spent money and sat still for two hours! It’s over! Are we cultured now? Despite the convenience of home entertainment, people still go to the theatre to be intellectually stimulated and even challenged, they expect the playwright to uphold his end of the bargain.

At the conclusion of Shattered Globe’s production of Harrison’s play ‘The Grown-Up’, an audience of albeit mostly theatre critics was pretty quiet. This is usually an achievement for a playwright whose work has left its audience stunned. In this case, it was an audience left without an impression, and without enough material to commend themselves for sitting through.

‘The Grown-Up’ tells the story of Actor A, or Kai (Keven Viol) who’s grandfather, Actor B (Ben Werling) gives him a magic door-knob with which he can fast forward to the unpleasant and unfulfilling realities of his adulthood. Safely packaged in a chronological structure, we see the very brief disappointments and adult anxieties that await little Kai.  While these scenes have glimmers of relatability, they’re too short to invest in character and instead come off as series of clichés.  Rather than relying on dialog to explain how these moments of Kai’s life are fraught with meaning, we’re lazily told by various narrators. The script capitalizes on too many trendy devices, but doesn’t validate their necessity.

Shattered Globe has the talent to justify the one-hour run time of this play. Director Krissy Vanderwarker’s aesthetic inserts some personality to this static drama.  Actor D (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel) plays a few of roles, but really becomes a focal point of the play as a secretary trying to keep up in life. Gonzales-Cruz provides most of the laughs and the most intriguing performance.

Plays like ‘The Grown-Up’ are part of a growing trend in American playwriting that protect themselves in metaphysical chow-chow so that if you don’t like it, you just didn’t get it. What counts in a live performance is what the audience takes away, and if there’s not enough script to resonate with a viewer, what’s the point?

@ Shattered Globe Theatre. 1229 W Belmont. 773-975-8150. Through May 23^rd.