Displaying items by tag: Melissa Ross

Life comes at you fast. We go about our lives, navigating the ups and the downs, never really thinking of  more than the day to day, the little irritations of work, or being consumed by a new love. Then, as it always seems to go, something upends our life, like a life threatening illness. Suddenly everything that once consumed our thoughts becomes trivial, eclipsed by the momumentalness of the new reality. While most could succumb to the pressure of such news, others persevere, determined to live their life on their terms, regardless of knowing what lies ahead of them. This very real life scenario played out in Melissa Ross’ 'The Luckiest'.

Lissette and Peter are best friends living their best lives. But when an out-of-nowhere diagnosis shatters Lissette's world, Peter is left trying to pick up the pieces. Suddenly finding herself at odds with her best friend and her mom – who each come bearing strong opinions wrapped in good intentions – Lissette is forced to navigate between the two while unflinchingly forging her own path for her future. This tender, funny, and keenly-observed play explores the uncertain and sometimes heartbreaking territory of how we choose to take ownership of our lives. Melissa Ross’ moving play, full of heartbreak and hilarity makes its Chicago Premiere.

As one who nows cries at every sad or beautiful movie, play, or song, I fully expected to be clutching a tissue all evening while watching The Luckiest. As I watched Lissette, played by Cassidy Slaughter-Mason, and Peter, played by Christopher Wayland, throughout their friendship we see a beautiful complex narrative that forces the question, “who really is the luckiest?” Is the luckiest Lissette, who, despite this life ending illness, chooses her own fate and lives her life unabashedly? Is she the luckiest to have had such a friend as Peter, who helped her navigate her life with the illness? Perhaps the luckiest is Peter, who is lucky to have met and befriended Lissette, lucky to have had him in her life. One could say Lissette’s mother, played by Tara Mallen, is the luckiest to hae been there for her daughter in her time of need. Consider for a moment that the luckiest people are the survivors, Peter and Lissette’s mother, who live on no longer under the weight of caretaking nor bearers of the weight of such a onerous decision. Maybe the luckiest person is the one who chooses to leave this world, no longer in pain or heartache. 

The beauty of Melissa Ross’ 'The Luckiest' is that the lucky one is in the eye of the beholder. She holds a mirror to our lives with honesty, grounding, and even a little dark humor. I happen to think that we, the audience, are the lucky ones. We’re lucky to be spectators to such a story, to have our health and ability to see Lisette and hear her words, and walk away from the play knowing we too could have our lives changed at any moment; a reminder to live our lives. 'The Luckiest' is a substantioanlly light play that is sure to stay with you long after you leave the theatre, and we are all the more lucky for it.

'The Luckiest' is playing at Raven Theatre located at 6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660 through June 9th. Tickets are available at https://www.raventheatre.com/stage/the-luckiest/.

Having been wanting to check it out for quite a while, I was excited to go see Nice Girl at the Raven Theatre, the theatre’s latest offering, this one by Melissa Ross and directed by Lauren Shouse. Upon entering the Edgewater located venue, I walked into the warmth and was greeted by two friendly gentlemen. It is an unassuming, no thrills theatre, and unfortunately was missing a bar. As I went to find a seat, I noticed the sense of community at Raven Theatre. It was clear the staff was close-knit and well-connected in the theatre community.

I was immediately transported to Massachusetts as they play started. Both Josephine, played by Lucy Carapetyan, and her mother Francine, who is played by Lynne Baker, show fantastic chemistry from the get go and the banter between the two is strong, to say the least. In fact, their repartee is so realistic at times as they both pushed each other's buttons it made me uncomfortable.

The premise of the play is that Josephine is 37, single, and living with her mother. She befriends a coworker named Sherri (Stella Martin) who happens to be the saving grace of this play. She brings a much-needed energy to the sad life that Carapetyan so convincingly brought to her character. As the play progresses we are introduced to Donnie (Benjamin Sprunger) who is an old classmate of Josephine and they start to build a budding romance. But the characters prove to be bland.

There is a twist in the second half of the play in which I missed completely, most likely due to the lack of interest in the play’s characters. I truly struggled with the play and what it offers to its audience. It is sad and without much hope until the end of the show. What I yearned for was the steady, noticeable growth of Josephine throughout the challenges of her relationship with her mother but again, some changes occurred at the end.

Nice Girl is a bit hard to watch but it does have some humor breaks here and there, albeit on the more minor side – not enough to salvage the play. I struggled with feeling much hope for the main character. If seeing the play, be prepared to be sad and have a lot of hurt in your heart. However, when walking out of the Theatre many patrons commented that they enjoyed Nice Girl, obviously appealing to the taste of several theatre goers. Who’s to say who will enjoy what so, as always, check it out and make your own opinion.
Nice Girl is being performed at Raven Theatre where it is running until March 11th. Tickets available at www.raventheatre.com.