When We Were Young and Unafraid”

[rating=5] As one who has been involved with shelters for battered women, I was impressed by the beautiful story as told by  Sarah Treem in the Chicago premiere of her “When We Were Young and Unafraid” now onstage at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater. If you have not been to this “Black Box” theater located around the corner from the mainstage, you are in for a treat. It is not a storefront, but rather an intimate space that can be configured as needed by the director and scenic designer of any production. For this particular production, there are fifty seats so everyone gets great sight lines.

The story is one that takes us back to the 1970’s. This was before Roe vs. Wade and the Violence Against Women Act, so many homes became shelters for women who had nowhere else to go. In all my years of doing Santa in these homes, I was brought to the home with a mask on so that I could not get there on my own. This was for the safety of the women, and in these instances, their children. The people who took them in had sworn to protect them no matter what they had to do.An ex could never try to get me to tell them where they were.

In our story, it is Agnes ( played to perfection by Julie Partyka) who lives with her daughter, Penny ( deftly handled by Halle Hoffman) has a bed and breakfast that also serves as a hideout for women who have escaped from the men who beat them. In our story, this lady is Mary Anne ( JoAnn Birt captures all the feeling of the torment and the mixed feelings that go with it). Her story is probably typical but as the story unfolds we learn a great deal about these women and their secrets.

Since this is a Bed and Breakfast, there is another side to the building and in that section we have a gentleman, Paul ( Sean William Kelly) who has just become single himself and is in many ways a lost soul seeking the love that his ex did not give him. The other person in the B& B is Hannah ( Clare Allegra Taylor) who is a homosexual’ and is attempting to find her own “Eden”. So we have a college bound teen who also finds love, or what she thinks might be love, a battered wife seeking refuge as well as happiness, a man in search of love, a woman in search of a perfect place with no men and of course, Agnes, the caretaker, who as I said has her own story.

Sharply directed by Sara Pavlak McGuire on a set designed by Jeremiah Barr ( who also did the props and technical direction) this is a little less than two hours of pure drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The action moves as if a dance choreographed by McGuire and the music and sound (Robert Tobin and Melanie Thompson) flow with the action. For many, this will be an eye opening experience into lives of which you have no knowledge of. For those who have had experience with these shelters and how they operate ( yes, even today, they exist), this will show some depth into the people you may have met without knowing their “back stories”.

“When We Were Young and Unafraid” will continue at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater as part of the AstonRep Theatre Company season thru June 12th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

Tickets are a mere $20 ( students and seniors get a discount), a true bargain for a show of this quality . You can get your by calling 773-828-9129 or visit www.astonrep.com

The Edge Off-Broadway Theater is located at 1133 West Catalpa ( just East of Broadway) and there is street parking available.

Covid policies are in effect and masks must remain on during entire performance.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “When We Were Young and Unafraid”.