Displaying items by tag: Steppenwolf Theatre

Steppenwolf Theatre’s Airline Highway focuses on those who are mostly forgotten, unseen or unfortunately, even looked down upon by many. In this case the story revolves around a group of outcasts who inhabit The Hummingbird Motel in New Orleans that have come to call themselves “family”. Each comes with their own heartbreaking story or unfortunate set of life circumstances that has led their way to become motel dwellers. Mostly scratching and clawing for another day of food and/or shelter, audience members are face to face with a reality that is mostly hidden, or conciously forgotten, from our daily lives. We inevitably see the caring that is shared amongst each other in such a group and realize that a self-made family of “invisibles”, as they are referred to, have the same hopes, dreams and capacity for love, whether giving or receiving, as anyone else.

As one walks into the theatre they are first met with a highly impressive set that recreates an aging motel with brick façade complete with an office, large vintage stand up sign (perhaps 1950s) and a litter-filled parking lot that one could swear is actual concrete. We see a stairwell, several room doors, an abandoned Honda Civic and a backdrop of an evening sky. As the play progresses we are introduced to one colorful character after another – a laid back office manager, an enthusiastic hippie who considers himself a poet, a vibrant transvestite, an maturing hooker, a stripper who idealizes about having an office job and a handyman who is always trying to make a buck by offer to make repairs around the motel.

It is soon uncovered that the group is planning to throw a party for Miss Ruby, a near death elderly resident who once owned a famous strip club and has also taken her share of wrong turns in life. But this is no ordinary party –it is a funeral – a living funeral. It was Miss Ruby’s request to have a send off while still alive. As the party is being put together, we learn many revealing aspects about the past of each resident. We also see a family bond that rivals most. When Bait Boy returns to attend the party (now considered somewhat successful by the group’s standards), another dimension is added to the group’s dynamic. Adding to his questionable homecoming, Bait Boy, now “Greg”, brings his girlfriend’s sixteen year-old daughter who plans to interview the “subculture” for a high school paper. This is unsettling for some of the Hummingbird residents.

Airline Highway can be funny at times and it is often moving. A slew of wonderful performances by K. Todd Freeman as “Sissy”, Kate Buddeke (“Tanya”), Caroline Neff (“Krista”), Scott Jaeck (“Wayne”) and Gordon Joseph Weiss as the eccentric and loveable “Francis” make this story as believable as it is enjoyable. It is hard not to appreciate every privilege we have experienced in life after seeing this production. Maybe it’s a few bad decisions or perhaps it’s a couple runs of bad luck, but in Airline Highway we see that anyone is susceptible to conditions that can make a life spiral downward. We also see displays of strength, love and courage. There are times we simply envy the closeness of the group and the protectiveness they have for each other.

Flowing at a pace that allows everything to develop with its own organic freshness, Airline highway is a delightful story that brings strong personal ties to the forefront and recognizes the fact that families come in all shapes and sizes, connected by blood or not.

Brilliantly directed by Joe Mantello, Lisa D’Amour’s Airline Highway is playing at Steppenwolf Theatre through February 8^th, 2015. For tickets and/or more information, visit www.steppenwolf.org or call 312-335-1650. 

*Above photo: (left to right) Carloyn Braver and Carloine Neff

*Below photo: The cast of Airline Highway currently being performed at Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted)

Russian Transport, currently running at Steppenwolf through May 11^th, is, in playwright Erika Sheffer’s words, a story of “good people in bad circumstances doing terrible things.”  Inspired by her own family of first and second-generation Soviet immigrants, and directed by fellow Eastern-European immigrant Yasen Peyankov, Sheffer’s story is an extremely personal portrayal of our common struggle to define success and happiness.

Staged at Steppenwolf’s upstairs theater (four flights of stairs, if you’re walking), the personal touch of the writer/director duo is immediately apparent, as the audience must use the set’s foyer entryway to reach their seats (vodka and cognac set out, but unfortunately not served).  The cultural details of the performance are extremely accurate and well-thought: indoor slippers are always worn, vodka is served casually to minors, and the mother, Diana (understudy Loretta Rezos filled in for Mariann Mayberry), ensures food is always present.

The most obvious cultural aspect of the performance is the dialogue, as the three adult cast-members put on thick Russian accents for the duration of the show.  English-speakers should know that much of the dialogue is actually in Russian, as writer Sheffer admits she intended to show the audience that, “you can follow the action without literally understanding the words.” The approving laughter of the many Russian-speakers in the audience is a testament to Peyankov’s direction and the cast’s preparation, and actor Tim Hopper’s accurate command of the mannerisms and intonations of recently-immigrated Uncle Boris is one of the stand-out performances of the show.

Hopper’s performance is trumped only by that of Aaron Himelstein as Alex, the Russian-born but American raised son caught between his father Misha’s (Alan Wilder) flailing-but-legitimate car service business and Uncle Boris’ more illicit business dealings as a means of providing a living.  The story’s transformative character, Alex’s inner turmoil must be thoroughly convincing in order to convey Sheffer’s message, and Himelstein’s performance is raw, real, and entirely believable.

Through each family member’s influence on Alex, Sheffer challenges the audience to find a personal definition of success and happiness. Misha stands for family pride and honesty even as his business fails, while Boris succeeds despite his illicit dealings with young women.  Diana supports her brother Boris, maintaining that his terrible actions are justified by his ability to provide for the family, ignoring the age and naivety of her own daughter Mira (Melanie Neilan) in relation to the girls that Boris traffics.

In fact, Sheffer’s script dictates that the actress portraying Mira must double as the Russian “models” that Alex transports for Boris, putting the story’s competing perspectives in plain view for the audience.  If the double-role metaphor is not plain enough, the connection is made absolutely clear during Neilan’s final costume change from Mira to Russian girl, conducted in front of the audience at center stage under a single spotlight. 

While mostly maintaining a narrow focus on the unique struggles of her characters, Sheffer does step into a more general commentary on the “American dream” for a very brief moment.  As Alex transports his first girl for Boris, he tells a story of a school trip to the Statue of Liberty, where the class waited all day to climb the statue, only to find that the view from the top was just a short glimpse through a dirty window.  This statement, which is left open for interpretation, is as profound as Sheffer attempts to dive in an otherwise direct and entertaining narrative.

“Russian Transport” perfectly embodies Steppenwolf’s theme for the 2013/2014 season, “Getting Ahead,” which explores “our hunger to come out on top, and the discoveries we make along the way.”  In her interview with Dramaturge Dassia Posner, Sheffer notes that, “I want to see characters who, even if they might be doing things that are awful, have love in them and are capable of goodness.”  With Peyankov’s direction and the cast’s commitment to their characters, Sheffer succeeds in reminding us that we all have the capacity for the terrible when survival becomes a struggle.