Displaying items by tag: Debra Monk
Visiting Edna a masterful production at Steppenwolf, though a tad long
David Rabe’s Visiting Edna is everything you expect from Steppenwolf Theatre: a work of depth and significance, actors rendering studied characters, and production values of the highest order.
Rabe’s writing also displays another Steppenwolf hallmark: plays that mine the power and drama in the ordinary language of daily life. Edna (Debra Monk is sensational) is an Iowa widow soldiering through a litany of ills – heart failure, colostomy, colitis, diabetes and cancer – all conspiring to come in for the kill. Her middle-aged son Andrew (Ian Barford gives what will surely be a definitive performance) visits to check in on her, and decides to see if better medical advice might improve her condition.
This may sound grim, or even boring. It is anything but. Though Edna babbles endlessly - as mothers may – her almost hypnotic patter is laced with incisive reflection and homespun wisdom, engaging her son (and the audience). She also begins settling accounts, handing off possessions and revealing scars from her own upbringing from which she sought to shield Andrew and his sister. Edna vividly relates the impact on her own childhood of the fraught circumstances of her older sisters’ teenage miscarriage and battle with tuberculosis.
Edna’s end of life scenario affords moments of reflection, recall, and bonding with Andrew. Edna, born in 1926 to a world devoid of social media - or psychotherapy, for that matter - regrets in hindsight the physical discipline she inflicted on Andrew, and worries over her own careless decision to bring Andrew, age four at the time, to watch a hotel fire at which guests jumped to their deaths. "It's just so different now, that's all," Edna says.
The play also hums with a magical realism, as the dying Edna is pulled between two polarities familiar to anyone who has tread the path of serious illness: a distracting television, and the illness itself. In Visiting Edna, Actor One (Sally Murphy in a beautifully crafted and inspired performance) plays a channel-flipping Television, breaking the wall to address the audience in her opening monologue. She even relates the playwright's reflections on whether to wear rabbit ears or a dish antenna.)
Tim Hopper as Actor Two, plays Edna’s cancer through most of the play. (Note to Hopper fans: this is one his best roles.) Hopper’s knowing, insidious cancer recounts Edna's ailments, and telsl the audience, "Yet, she is desperate to live." Cancer offers gloomy reminders to Edna ("It's a dark hole you're in.") and competes mightily with Murphy’s sprightly Television for attention. In fact, neither wins it. As Actor Three (in a stunning walk-on role), Michael Rabe is at once frightening and believable as an angel of death.
The stage itself is quite awesome: a sky tunnel right out of Magritte hovers above a split level living room. Stormy weather was so convincingly portrayed I was surprised the streets were dry when I left the theater. Kudos to David Zinn for set design, Marcus Doshi on lighting, Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen for music and sound design. Artistic director Anna Shapiro, famed for August: Osage County, oversaw the show and guides this season at Steppenwolf.
This wonderful production has just one drawback: the ending, which seems to drag, as Andrew addresses the audience in a lengthy, tearful soliloquy about Edna’s final moments.
That aside, Visiting Edna is as good as it gets on stage. It runs through November 6, 2016 at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.
'Sanctuary Stories' Ventures Into Emotional Drama Behind the News on Immigration
13 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewSanctuary Stories plumbs the line between theater and journalism, and the powerful human dramas both can depict. Funded by a Northwestern…
Inside Six Strange Worlds: Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES
13 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewFor its sixth Halloween season, Rough House Theater Co. has transformed Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage into a spectacular puppet haunted…
Robert Falls Directs a Sinfully Satisfying Don Giovanni at Lyric Opera of Chicago
11 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewLet he without sin cast the first stone, Lyric’s “Don Giovanni” seemingly says when they bring up the house lights…
BrightSide’s Addams Family Musical Revives the Wonderfully Weird World of the Addams Clan
10 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewThey're creepy and they're kooky, Mysterious and spooky, They're altogether ooky, The Addams Family. Yes, ooky. BrightSide Theatre’s production of…
Chicago City Opera Delivers a Rare Operatic Haunting with Der Vampyr
08 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewWith Halloween creeping closer, there’s something fitting about revisiting one of opera’s earliest flirtations with macabre horror - especially in…
Avalanche Theatre stages the world premiere of They Broke Up by Skyler Tarnas November 6–22, 2026
08 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreAvalanche Theatre announces the world premiere production of They Broke Up by Chicago playwright Skyler Tarnas, November 6–22, 2026. Opening…
Celebrate 100 Years of the Cadillac Palace and James M. Nederlander Theatres
08 October 2026 in Theatre BuzzGrab your party hats — Broadway In Chicago ’s Cadillac Palace and James M. Nederlander Theatres are turning 100! The…
Oil Lamp Theater Announces the cast and creative team for the return of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY, Nov. 20 - Dec. 27
08 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOil Lamp Theater is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its next production and the final production…
Adults-only holiday fun: Who's Holiday! brings R-rated Cindy-Lou Who back to Theater Wit for her sixth year, Nov. 27-Dec. 27
08 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreChristmas Day is in our grasp. Why the vodka? Glad you asked! Who's Holiday! brings R-rated Cindy-Lou Who back to…
Two-Time Tony Award-Winning Actress Victoria Clark To Receive the Sarah Siddons Society Award at Annual Benefit on Monday, November 9, 2026
08 October 2026 in Theatre BuzzThe Sarah Siddons Society is pleased to present its 2026 Award to actress and director Victoria Clark, who recently starred…
Goodman's Dead Girl’s Quinceañera: When Fifteen Meets the Adult World
07 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewAt fifteen, the world can feel like a television show you haven't quite figured out how to turn off. For…
Steppenwolf Theatre's ADIRONDACK CHAIR CIRCLE In Rehearsal – Playing October 22 – December 6, 2026 – World Premiere!
07 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreSteppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to launch its 51st Season with the world premiere of…
Hell in a Handbag Productions Announces 25th Anniversary Season!
07 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreHell in a Handbag Productions is thrilled to announce its 25th Anniversary Season, featuring three "camptacular" shows guaranteed to delight lovers of…
Chicago’s Theater Wit introduces new Watchword closed captioning system, dramatically improving access in all three of its theaters
07 October 2026 in Theatre BuzzChicago’s Theater Wit is now offering new, state-of-the-art closed captioning service, marking a dramatic improvement in making live theater more…
Paramount Theatre’s reimagined A Christmas Carol promises to be a dazzling new, all-ages spectacle for Chicago’s holiday theater season, November 11-January 3
07 October 2026 in Upcoming Theatre“God bless us, everyone,” because there’s a fresh, new, reimagined version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale A Christmas Carol debuting…
"John C. Reilly is Mister Romantic" Returns to Steppenwolf Theatre - December 10 – 13, 2026
06 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreFollowing last year's critically acclaimed, sell-out engagement, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is pleased to announce the return of John C. Reilly…
Saint Sebastian Players Open 45th Season With A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie Classic Miss Marple Mystery Runs Oct. 23–Nov. 15
06 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreThe Saint Sebastian Players open their 45th season of travels to different places with A Murder is Announced, a classic Miss Marple mystery…
Announcing "The Goodman, For Good" Campaign
06 October 2026 in Theatre BuzzToday, Goodman Theatre raises the curtain on its future as leadership and artists share a vision for its next century…
Two Edge Theater Company to stage A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE as its inaugural Chicago production, December 4 through January 10
05 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreTwo Edge Theater, a reincarnation of the Edge Theater Company that enjoyed eight successful seasons in the Denver, Colorado area,…
Frankenstein at Studebaker Theater adds performances for Halloween run
05 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreChicago's historic Fine Arts Building and Studebaker Theater are thrilled to announce their Halloween co-production of Manual Cinema's acclaimed Frankenstein…
ANY REBELLION OF WILL - Trap Door Theatre - Through November 1st
05 October 2026 in Now PlayingTrap Door Theatre is thrilled to continue its 33rd season with Any Rebellion of Will, written by S.L. Daniels and…
Chicago-Area World Premiere of Liana Sonenclar's The Years Between Us - October 15-18
05 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreJonathan James Productions presents the world premiere of The Years Between Us, a new play by Liana Sonenclar, directed by…
Oil Lamp Theater Announces its 2027 Season
05 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOil Lamp Theater, currently presenting the highly recommended Dial M for Murder, through November 1, is proud to announce its…
Dial M for Mastery: Oil Lamp’s Thriller Tightens the Screws
04 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewAs a lifelong Hitchcock fan, Dial M for Murder has always been one of my comfort film thrillers - the…
ARTEMISIA REVEALS PLAYWRIGHTS AND DIRECTORS FOR THE 2026 WEWOMEN PLAY FESTIVAL At Bramble Arts Loft from Nov 16 - 18th
03 October 2026 in Upcoming TheatreArtemisia Theatre is proud to announce the return of the WeWomen Play Festival, its annual celebration of new feminist work.…
Operation Mincemeat: A Smart, Scrappy Musical That Shines When Its Cast Takes the Wheel
01 October 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIn the 2019 film Yesterday, a struggling musician wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed. A similar…
Backyard Theatre Company’s Red Bike - Berger Park Coach House Theatre - Through October 24th
30 September 2026 in Now PlayingRed Bike is an intimate, movement‑driven play that follows a young person navigating a town transforming faster than they can…
SANCTUARY STORIES - A JOURNALISM THEATER PROJECT - Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture - Through October 18th
30 September 2026 in Now PlayingThrough music, documentary video, sound, photos and live actors, “SANCTUARY STORIES: A JOURNALISM THEATER PROJECT” captures in words and images…
Red Theater presents the world premiere of CHURCH HURT October 24 - November 21, 2026
30 September 2026 in Upcoming TheatreRed Theater is thrilled to announce the cast and production team of the world premiere of Church Hurt by Brynne…
Ballets Jazz Montréal Makes Chicago debut at THE AUDITORIUM Saturday, November 7th
30 September 2026 in Upcoming DanceThe Auditorium (Chicago's landmark stage at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive) continues its 2026-27 Dance Season titled North American…
Latest Articles
-
Robert Falls Directs a Sinfully Satisfying Don Giovanni at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Written by John AccroccoLet he without sin cast the first stone, Lyric’s “Don Giovanni” seemingly says when they bring up the house lights while the cast cheerfully sing about sinners being smote. Lyric Opera of Chicago kicks off the season with a thrilling… -
Inside Six Strange Worlds: Exquisite Corpse VI: LULLABIES
Written by Maddie BurroughsFor its sixth Halloween season, Rough House Theater Co. has transformed Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage into a spectacular puppet haunted house. Last year I visted House of the Exquisite Corpse V: BLOOD & PUPPETS, and this year’s installment feels familiar… -
'Sanctuary Stories' Ventures Into Emotional Drama Behind the News on Immigration
Written by Bill EslerSanctuary Stories plumbs the line between theater and journalism, and the powerful human dramas both can depict. Funded by a Northwestern Medill School of Journalism grant to create a verbatim-based theatrical documentary, it is produced, directed and narrated by Craig Duff,… -
BrightSide’s Addams Family Musical Revives the Wonderfully Weird World of the Addams Clan
Written by Ken PayneThey're creepy and they're kooky, Mysterious and spooky, They're altogether ooky, The Addams Family. Yes, ooky. BrightSide Theatre’s production of The Addams Family Musical at the Theater at Meiley Swallow Hall feels like stepping back into the wonderfully odd world…
Does your theatre company want to connect with Buzz Center Stage or would you like to reach out and say "hello"? Message us through facebook or shoot us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
*This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Buzz Center Stage. Buzz Center Stage is a non-profit, volunteer-based platform that enables, and encourages, staff members to post their own honest thoughts on a particular production.