“Breach”

[rating=4] The actual title of the play now onstage at The Victory Gardens Theater is “Breach: a manifesto on race in America through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate”. That is one hell of a title, and for the most part could turn off some potential audience members. Written by Antoinette Nwandu as a “love letter to Black women”, this story-line can be confusing. We start off meeting our Black woman, Margaret ( handled to perfection by  Caren Blackmore) and her White boyfriend, Nate (deftly handled by Keith D. Gallagher). They are out for the evening and sort of discussing their day. In actuality, he does more discussing as he believes his days are the ones that truly matter. Their relationship is somewhat strained and at the same time, her position at the local Junior College is not going as she had anticipated. She has a new supervisor, who came in and was given the job, one that she felt was hers.

Margaret lives with her aunt Sylvia ( a wonderful performance and character developed and played by Linda Bright Clay) who serves as a portion of the comic touches that this story contains. Yes, that long title may make you think that this play is about “Black Lives Matter” and all the other newsworthy items you read, but this play is in fact hysterical. laughter fills the air for almost the entire two hours ( two acts with an intermission), but the value of the story being told does come through and there are some moments of sadness as well.

I do not like to give away much when there are twists and turns contained within a story, so I will try to be very careful I this section. Margaret, being somewhat frustrated with her current relationship with Nate, finds herself drawn to her new boss, Rasheed ( Al’jaleel McGhee is powerful in this role), in spite of hating the fact that he took the job that was meant to be hers and that she had vowed not to get involved with men like her father. They kiss and the chemistry takes over.

We soon find that Margaret is with child. Which of these two men is the father ? During this period as Margaret explores her future, she befriends an office cleaning lady, Carolina ( the amazingly funny Karen Rodriguez) who could easily have another play written just to see where her life ends up. In fact, I suggest this be the case, and I hope they will consider Ms Rodriguez for the role. The relationships that form, as directed by Lisa Portes show the closeness that can come from outsiders who due to having something in common can be bound, for an eternity.

This is a sharp comedy, but one that touches on real aspects of our lives and how one thing can affect another. The story is about love, looking for love in the wrong places, friendship, family, motherhood, death and dealing with issues that come into our lives almost daily. “Breach” is filled with warmth, humor and as it turns out “truth”. The set (Linda Buchanan) is very simple and flexible allowing very little time spent making changes. The lighting (Heather Gilbert) and sound (Thomas Dixon) were flawless and the costumes (Samantha C. Jones) perfect. Alec Long has assembled great props and the fight choreography is handled by Nick Sandys ( a true expert in this field).

“Breach: a manifesto on race in America through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate” will continue at Victory Gardens Theater located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue thru March 11th with performances as follows:

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays  7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  3 and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

Tickets range from $15- $60 and can be purchased at the box office, by calling 773-871-3000 or online at www.victorygardens.org

AFTERWORDS

after every performance there will be post-show discussions

Accessible Performances:  2/23  7:30 p.m.  2/24 at 3 p.m. and 2/28 at 2 p.m. Wednesday matinée  word for word-open captioning

2/23 at 7:30 p.m. ASL Interpreted

2/23  7:30 touch-tour at 6 p.m. and on March 4th at 3 p.m. with touch tour at 1:30 p.m.

Parking on the street can be difficult, so they do have valet parking available.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Breach etc”.