Displaying items by tag: Southern Gothic

The Goodman Theatre’s Covenant announces York Walker as a playwright ascending rapidly into the highest tier of American theater. This is not simply an impressive new work; it is the kind of play that reminds audiences why live theater remains uniquely capable of unsettling the spirit. Walker has written something rare: a Southern Gothic thriller steeped equally in folklore, faith, desire, and dread. Under the extraordinary direction of Malkia Stampley - arguably some of the finest work of her already remarkable career - the production unfolds with hypnotic control and devastating emotional precision.

Set in 1936 Georgia, Covenant begins with Ruthie’s haunting declaration: “Everybody got a secret.” That line becomes the pulse beneath the entire production. Secrets saturate every corner of Walker’s world. Desire hides beneath scripture. Fear hides beneath righteousness. Love hides beneath suspicion. And every revelation threatens to crack the play wide open.

Walker’s writing is lyrical without becoming self-conscious, poetic without sacrificing danger. His dialogue moves like music - earthy, funny, intimate, and increasingly ominous. The play’s supernatural undertones never overpower its humanity. Instead, Walker roots every eerie moment in emotional truth. The result is a suspenseful theatrical experience that genuinely keeps the audience on edge. Spooky, suspenseful plays this good are rare. Even rarer are ones disciplined enough not to betray themselves too early. The less one knows going in, the better. This production rewards surrender.

Stampley directs with astonishing confidence. She understands that terror often lives in silence, stillness, and suggestion. The production breathes with tension. Every pause feels loaded. Every gesture seems to carry spiritual consequence. The prayer sequences become almost ritualistic choreography, while scenes of intimacy hum with equal parts longing and danger. Stampley masterfully balances the play’s realism and its creeping nightmare logic without allowing either to overpower the other.

The production’s technical elements are equally exceptional. Set designer Ryan Emens creates a sparse wooden structure dominated by a cross front and center, a deceptively simple design that transforms effortlessly, with the addition of a few pieces of furniture, into both a humble church and a family home. Costume designer Evelyn M. Danner has clearly done her homework; the costumes feel authentically rooted in the period without ever appearing overly theatrical. The lighting design by Gina Patterson becomes an entirely new character in the production. Patterson’s work shapes mood and terror with remarkable precision, particularly during a stunning sequence involving thunder, lightning, and pouring rain that sends a chill through the audience. Complementing it beautifully is Dee Etti-Williams’ sound design, which works in haunting tandem with the lighting to create an atmosphere of gathering doom.

Ashli René Funches in Covenant at Goodman Theatre. Photo by Hugo Hentoff.

The all-Chicago cast is exceptional from top to bottom.

Debo Balogun delivers magnetic work as Johnny “Honeycomb” James, a wandering blues musician whose charm conceals depths the audience is never fully certain it understands. Balogun’s performance is seductive, wounded, and quietly terrifying all at once. He understands the danger of charisma.

As Ruthie, Ashli Renè Funches gives the production its emotional anchor. Her narration draws us into the story with heartbreaking vulnerability, and her slow awakening to the darkness surrounding her becomes deeply affecting.

Jaeda Lavonne is luminous as Avery, a young woman desperate to escape the suffocating boundaries of her world. Lavonne beautifully captures Avery’s hunger for freedom while allowing fear and spiritual confusion to shadow every choice she makes.

As Violet, Felicia Oduh brings sharp intelligence, humor, and emotional volatility to the stage. Violet often functions as the play’s skeptic and truth-teller, and Oduh gives her a raw immediacy that keeps the character from becoming merely symbolic.

Then there is Anji White as Mama. White disappears entirely into the role. Her performance is extraordinary in its complexity - unyielding, terrifying, wounded, and deeply tragic. Mama could easily become a caricature of religious severity, but White reveals the grief and horror buried underneath her righteousness. Her monologues land like thunderclaps.

What makes Covenant especially impressive is how fully it trusts the audience. Walker refuses easy answers. The play constantly asks whether evil is supernatural, inherited, psychological, or self-created. Is the devil real in this world? Or do people simply need something external to blame for the violence they carry inside themselves? The play never simplifies those questions.

And then comes the ending.

Do not spoil it for yourself. Do not let anyone spoil it for you. The audience will not see it coming.

Covenant is beautifully written, beautifully acted, and beautifully told. It lingers long after the lights go down, like a whispered warning you cannot quite forget.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

When: Through May 31 *Now extended though June 7th

Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.

Runtime: 140 minutes (no intermission)

Tickets: $24-$44

Info: www.goodmantheatre.org

Box Office: 312-443-3800

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

What was meant to be a run somewhere in the neighborhood of four to eight weeks, became a resident show for Windy City Playhouse, so popular in fact, a new home was created nearly a year later to hold the run indefinitely. The new venue, Windy City Playhouse South (2229 S. Michigan) is now the home for ‘Southern Gothic’ the smash hit play that shows no signs of slowing down. The immersive theater experience co-created by Windy City Playhouse Artistic Director Amy Rubenstein is truly unique and it’s not at all beyond the possibility that this show could become Chicago’s next Million Dollar Quartet, as far as a show that went on an open run for several years.

The show centers around a house party containing four couples in Ashford Georgia on June 30th, 1961. Ellie and Beau Couttier (Sarah Grant and Michael McKeogh) are hosting Suzanne Wellington’s 40th birthday party and it doesn’t start off very well after the caterer doesn’t show up, and the Couttier’s are forced to throw together appetizers and desserts. Scrambling through their refrigerator and cabinets, the two throw together frosting on graham crackers, Cheez-it on crackers and other fun creations. As guests arrive, the party starts off on a light note but quickly goes off the rails as secrets come out and Tucker Alsworth (Ben Page) shows up with Cassie Smith (Arielle Leverett), a woman of color – in 1961 Georgia, where, for many, it was acceptable to enjoy Harry Belafonte on the radio but not socially acceptable to have him over for dinner. As the play progresses, multiple story lines take shape - each fascinating in their own right, with everything eventually coming together quite nicely.

So…the dialogue is riveting and the performances outstanding. Sounds like a solid production, but why all the fuss?

Because, you – the audience, are invited to the party – like, really. And, if you’re like me – someone who enjoys going out but prefers to avoid mundane small talk with acquaintances or strangers, this party is for you.

Audience members can gather in the front yard area of the mid-century modern home or choose to travel from room to room in its interior. There’s not a bad seat in the house (literally). The story moves from room to room (even the bathroom) and you, as the “invited guest” can choose to follow whichever story line you like. There are benches along the walls of the home if you prefer to sit for a bit, but chances are you’ll be moving back and forth a fair amount of the time to collect as much action as possible. And don’t be shy. Feel free to grab any of the snacks that the Couttier’s provide for the guests. Tom Collins are also served (non-alcoholic version available upon prior request). It’s a party! And all you have to do is sit back (and/or walk around) and soak in a hilarious party gone wrong.

Of course, the audience (limited to 30 guests for obvious space reasons) is asked to do their best to stay along the walls and not interact with the actors, who by the way are spectacular at focusing on each other despite the distraction of a moving crowd. Yes, each finely-tuned actor is dialed into their character and the others as though the audience did not exist.

Superbly directed by David H. Bell and wonderfully written by Leslie Liataud, the play includes a great amount of humor, comes with a handful of intriguing story lines, includes eight stand out performances and a set that will certainly make many reminisce about their childhood home (depending on how old one is) or maybe their grandparents house thanks to the fine attention to detail by the talented Windy City Playhouse design team.

Victor Holstein as Charles Lyon, Erin Barlow as Lauren Lyon, Paul Fage as Jackson Wellington and Amy Malcom as birthday girl, Suzanne Wellington round out a splendid cast, that, along with the other actors already mentioned, create a most memorable night for audience members in this very special production.

Do not be deterred by the $90-$100 ticket prices – steep at first glance – but it’s really not. This brilliantly put together show is well worth the cost of admission as it is something you cannot experience anywhere else. In fact, you might even opt to see the play more than once just so you can follow a different story line or see it from a different perspective. There’s a reason this play is a hit and is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Highest recommendation.

‘Southern Gothic’ is being performed at Windy City Playhouse South indefinitely. For tickets and/or more show information, visit windycityplayhouse.com.

*Extended through October 27th

Gone are the days of traditional theatre when actors and audience members were politely separated by at least an imaginary buffer zone. Enter Southern Gothic, written by Leslie Liautaud, created by Carl Menninger and Amy Rubenstein, and directed by David H. Bell, with its concept of “immersive theatre” where the audience members (only 25 are allowed per each show) are given an opportunity to be a “fly on the wall” at a birthday cocktail party in Ashland, Georgia in the summer of 1961.

There’s really no stage, the entire set is a replica of a southern mid-century house; it is meticulously designed by Scott Davis and complete with the kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom and a back porch. Every fabulously authentic detail of the house, including the furniture, dishes, the actors’ costumes, as well as the food and drinks, are spot on. And if going back in time sounds exciting, then being able to snoop around the house, open the kitchen cupboards and the fridge, and eavesdrop on intimate conversations is a dream come true!

And speaking of dream come true: just because the audience is “invisible”, doesn’t mean that they can’t sample that delightful mid-century American cocktail party fare: the spam-topped crackers, bright red jello dessert and the retro cocktails occasionally being passed around. All that is sure to put one in the mood for the unfolding drama; and there’s plenty of drama.

Four couples get together at Ellie and Beau Coutier’s house to celebrate Suzanne Wellington’s 40th birthday. Alcohol flows freely and guests are mostly enjoying themselves, when the good times turn sour once drunken guests start spilling their dirty secrets.

The hostess (beautifully played by Sarah Grant) is having an affair with one of the guests, Charles Lyon, a charming politician (Brian McCaskill), whose wife Lauren, a very wealthy woman with her own secret [or two] is pre-occupied with her problems. The birthday girl (a superbly colorful and lively Brianna Borger), whose reputation for being obnoxious precedes her… well, she is just very hungry because the party caterer was being held up and she’s reduced to dining on saltine crackers. It’s a very intimate play, made more so by being so physically close to the actors. There’re several plots going on, and as events intensify, it is virtually impossible to follow through on every one of them, which makes the entire experience sort of customizable. But as the sounds of crickets are heard outside the windows, cool 60’s vibes palpable throughout – it’s a good feeling to jump back to the simpler times. Just be sure not to bump into actors as you try to take it all in.

Opened in 2015, Windy City Playhouse prides itself on providing non-traditional high quality theater experience starting with a welcoming full-service bar in a luxurious lounge. Theatergoers are encouraged to stay after the show and mingle with the actors.

Southern Gothic is being performed as an open-ended run at Windy City Playhouse. For more show information visit http://windycityplayhouse.com.

*Now extended through July 29th