Displaying items by tag: Matthew Paul Olmos

Thursday, 15 February 2024 12:56

'A Home What Howls' Nails the Way Things Work for People in the Margins

Tim Hopper and Leslie Sophia Pérez in "A Home What Howls" at Steppenwolf Theatre through March 2, 2024

Matthew Paul Olmos is a playwright on the rise, and under the direction of Laura Alcalá Baker we have a chance to see a beautiful production of an exceptional work in its world premiere at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. As the vernacular title suggests, “A Home What Howls (or the house what was ravine)” is not a staid work, not a constrained “Cherry Orchard” where emotions are buried between the lines.

Instead, Olmos’ work is poetic, magical, and musical as well, and the characters, though poor, are living rich, happy lives in their homes. In the first act, realism rules in many scenes, and Olmos shows a mastery of dialog and detail.

The play opens with a married couple—Abrana (Charin Alvarez) and Manuel Vargas (Eddie Torres) asleep on a bed. In the adjacent room their daughter Soledad (Leslie Sophia Pérez) is hard at work on papers scattered around the floor, perhaps her schoolwork, or maybe something else.

Her parents are awakened by sounds of trickling water running outside. Soon after, sound of a helicopter roars by, and we hear earth moving equipment as well. “There are nightmares around this house,” says Manuel as he and Abrana jump from the bed, and he begins fiddling with a trap door in the floor—an escape hatch?

We begin to piece together that this family is illegally living in a home condemned to make way for a reservoir, one that will allow housing and other development nearby ravine , through which a river flows. By means of a kind of inferential exposition, Olmos paints a portrait of what happens when families are driven from their homes by development—not from the outside looking in, but from inside the homes and families.

Olmos departs from this style to solid realism filled with exposition in one crucial scene: a public hearing at which the now adult Soledad challenges government official Frank over the process by which these families in the way of development have been displaced. It is certainly the best representation I’ve run across of a marginalized community challenging the validity of an eminent domain claim by city officials to displace homeowners dwelling in an area coveted by developers.

As the ravine along which they live is being flooded, and their homes taken, Soledad challenges the city establishment at a public hearing, outing all the tropes which society accepts as the rules of the game—the original seizure of the land from indigenous people by treaty and ceremony; the surveys of businesses showing broad support for the development; Tim Hopper in the role of Frank is exquisitely obtuse. After all, he argues, a ceremony was held in which a “citizen” of the indigenous “transferred” rights to development to the city. “How was this representative procured?” Soledad asks.

The question flies over his head, as Frank goes on to describe, in all sincerity, a ceremony that he found moving—but it highlights the suggestion that the indigenous individual may have had no right to speak for his people. “You’re using the term ‘peace offering,’” Soledad says. “But Public Works uses the terms ‘relinquish’ and ‘transfer.’”

And what about the original homeowners who settled for generations in this indigenous land. ”They were not asked, but they were considered deeply,” Frank says. ”Only businesses” were surveyed, admits Frank, who is beginning to realize he has aquite an adversary in Soledad. Frank says the homeowners displaced were compensated for the value of their homes, which were dilapidated and brought them little. But a home is much more than a building, Soledad points out. How were they compensated for the loss of happiness and memories, and the dispersion of their families, she asks. Market value can’t equal that kind of loss.

“A Home What Howls” runs about 90 minutes, no intermission, and is part of Steppenwolf's Young Adults theater program. But as with other such works in the Young Adults series, it is profoundly good, so I try to see them all.

I will say that I couldn’t always follow the magical parts of the second half, as the old woman resident Syera Lama (Isabel Quintero) appears. She teams up with Soledad in a quest for the rights of the people, encountering a menacing train conductor, also played by Hopper. Quintera also appears numerous times disguised as a magical figure Coyote. Despite my own confusion, the audience was clearly digging it, and the laughter at comical scenes was quite full. “A Home What Howls" runs through March 2 in Steppenwolf’s new in-the-round Ensemble Theater. It’s a great chance to see the work of a playwright we will doubtless be hearing from more and more.

Published in Theatre in Review

‘Anatomy of a Suicide’ Is Hard to Watch, But Not Because of the Subject

18 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Perhaps surprisingly, Anatomy of a Suicide is not an overwhelmingly emotionally gripping play, nor is it horrifying. Instead, it vividly…

Gwydion Theatre Company presents The Chicago Premiere of Por’ Knockers at the Greenhouse Theater’s Studio 44 September 10 - October 4

18 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

This narrative tracks five individuals within the "People’s Diasporatic Party"—outfitted in corporate attire—as they take refuge in a desolate East…

Oil Lamp's I Love You Because has heart, despite lukewarm romance

17 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Finding love has always been a challenge. In Jane Austen’s day, a time governed by strict rules of courtship, couples…

Joffrey Ballet opens its 2026-27 season with Chicago Premiere of John Neumeier's theatrical masterpiece, Liliom, featuring 16-piece live jazz band on stage SEPTEMBER 17-27

17 August 2026 in Upcoming Dance

The Joffrey Ballet opens its 2026-27 season with the Chicago Premiere of John Neumeier's landmark narrative ballet Liliom. Inspired by Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play and…

Detroit ’67 at Pulse Theatre Chicago – September 11-November 1

17 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Pulse Theatre Chicago proudly announces a defining new chapter in the company's history with the expansion of its artistic leadership,…

Hail Mary/Maria at Theater Wit – A Welcome New Slant on Crossing Over into Adulthood

17 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Coming of age stories resonate more profoundly when they mirror the lived reality of a real person. That’s why the…

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Hosts "Exploring The In Between: A Conversation About Mid-Sized Theatres in Chicago," Monday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at Theater

17 August 2026 in Theatre Buzz

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s 30th Anniversary Season continues with "Exploring The In Between: A Conversation About Mid-Sized Theatres in Chicago," Monday,…

Shattered Globe Theatre Announces 36th Season

17 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Shattered Globe Theatre (SGT), now under the artistic leadership of Ian Frank, is pleased to announce its 36th Season, featuring three plays that explore the…

M.A.D.D. Rhythms Announces the return of the Chicago Tap Summit this October and other 25th Anniversary Events

17 August 2026 in Upcoming Dance

M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms, Chicago’s premier tap collective, is proud to celebrate its 25th Anniversary at the Chicago Tap…

BLUE MAN GROUP "A NEW HOLIDAY SURPRISE" Coming to Chicago for the Holidays NOVEMBER 24 – DECEMBER 13

17 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce Blue Man Group will bring its first-ever holiday production, "A NEW HOLIDAY SURPRISE," on…

League of Chicago Theatres hosts 2026 Spotlight Gala: Unmask the Night, Embrace the Drama October 19

17 August 2026 in Theatre Buzz

The League of Chicago Theatres will host its annual benefit, the 2026 Spotlight Gala: Unmask the Night, Embrace the Drama at City Hall –…

Broadway In Chicago presents Waitress at JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE OCTOBER 13 – 18, 2026

17 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce that single tickets for the upcoming engagement of the 10th Anniversary tour of the hilarious…

Otherworld Theatre Boldly Goes Again with Starship Edsel Season 4

17 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Otherworld Theatre blasts back into the cosmos with Season 4 of Starship Edsel: An Improvised Star Trek Parody, the latest…

Bernstein’s Score Burns Bright in Music Theater Works’ West Side Story

16 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Some musicals carry such cultural weight that every new production feels like a referendum on how well a company can…

Gus and Alice Brings Nostalgic, Cozy Comedy

15 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Theatre 31 Productions’ Gus and Alice has returned to the Greenhouse Theater Center this month. Written by Chicago playwright Mike Rago,…

From Subway Cars to Chicago Stages: Marcus Monroe at The Comedy Bar

14 August 2026 in Theatre in Review

Sometimes the best way to find a comedian who’s new to you is by stumbling onto a clip that stops…

Jersey Boys coming to CIBC Theatre November 10 - 22

14 August 2026 in Upcoming Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce tickets for t he original Tony® & Olivier Award-winning musical sensation, JERSEY BOYS, are now on sale.…