“Linda”

Highly Recommended ***** The beauty of our Chicago theater scene is that we have small “black box” venues all over the city. One of these amazing theaters is Steep, located just a few yards from the Berwyn Red Line stop, at 1115 West Berwyn ( just half a block east of Broadway. They are currently doing a marvelous play, written by Penelope Skinner, entitled “Linda”. It is the story of an aging, award-winning executive at a beauty corporation, who is afraid that she may be becoming “invisible” in a world where youth is more important than intelligence. Or so it seems!.

Linda, a marvelous portrayal by  Cindy Marker ( who recently took over the role from the highly regarded Kendra Thulin), is a married woman with two daughters ( from different husbands) who has created her own little world of work and family balance and is very happy with what she has created. Her older daughter  Alice ( deftly handled by Destini Huston) has her own set of problems. She had to drop out of college and her ambitions to be a woman of power due to some moments that will shock you, but will certainly make you more aware of our new world and attitudes towards the male/female relationship.

Her younger daughter, Brdiget ( adorably played by Caroline Phillips) desires to be an actress , but would prefer playing the lead male roles over that of the female, as they have more lines and better speeches. Her father, Neil ( Peter Moore handles this role with just the right touch, (this role will be played  by Alex Gillmor starting with the August 23rd -August 26th), is almost a stay-at home dad, as he is in the music business and manages to be home for the kids and dinner daily, until?

There is a new generation at Swan Beauty Corporation. People who are ready to move up the chain and prefer not working hard to get there. Whatever it takes! That seems to be the motto. And whatever can be taken, fits right in. Is Linda’s job in jeopardy? As she gets to be “50 something” will she become invisible? In the eyes of the company President ( (played by Jim Poole), who she may have slept with to get into her position. After all, the times were different. And while it is not stated, it certainly is intimated. The young executive on the rise, Amy (solidly handled by Rochelle Therrien) as it turns out knew Linda’s daughter Alice in college and when you learn more about their relationship, you will almost be able to guess what will take place in the strong story written by  Skinner. I must say that it is the solid direction by Robin Witt that keeps us enthralled with the story and what happens in each scene. This play is two-and-a-half-hours in length with a 15 minute intermission, and Witt keeps the action moving so well it never seems long.

The other cast members are Omer Abbas Salem as Luke, an associate that is on the rise and what takes place between this young man and Linda changes her life, forever. The other is Stevie ( Lucy Carapetyan) who we see several times without understanding who she is, but when her story unfolds, we see the changes that are the start of the end of Linda’s  fight for relevance. I certainly do not want to give away any of the mystery that this tale contains and the beauty of the presentation, so I will tell you that the story, which I thought might be a woman’s afternoon at the theater, can be enjoyed, and understood by everyone and  that Ms Marker, stepping into a highly acclaimed role is superb and I found myself entranced by her character.

The set (Joe Schermoly) is dynamite and makes great use of a small space, where the audience is less that 10 feet from the action. The lighting (Brandon Wardell) and sound (Thomas Dixon, who also composed the incidental music) are terrific. I was impressed with some of the costumes (Izuma Inaba) but felt that an executive, even a trainee, like Luke, would have more than one suit for the entire play. The props (Emma Cullimore and Derik Marcussesen) are also magic, and while the dialect coach , Adam Goldstein, did work with the cast on their British accents, I wonder why they needed to use this at all. Couldn’t this all have taken place in the Midwest, or East Coast? Might have been even more effective!

The show has been extended until September 15th, and Ms.Marker is worth the trip for. The performance schedule is as follows:

Thursdays  8 p.m.

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  8 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

Tickets- open seating are $27 and if you prefer reserved, $38 and can be ordered by calling 773-649-3186 or online at www.steeptheatre.com

Again the theater is located at 1115 West Berwyn. There are meters on the street ( no fees on Sunday) and possibly evenings, you may have to only pay for an hour- check the listings. If you go just west of the theater, there is easy street parking with no special stickers needed, and of course the Red-Line stops at Berwyn.

To see what others are saying, visit http://www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Linda”. You won’t want to miss this one!