“Southern Gothic”

★★★★★Let me preface my review of the latest production at Windy City Playhouse, by explaining that it is not a play, per se, but in fact, what one might call a “theatrical experience”! While there is a story , of sorts, in reality, we the audience are treated as the proverbial “fly-on-the-wall ” that is so often mentioned in theater. This theater, which I believe is now in its third season on Irving Park Road, is the true “black box” in that for every play, they redo the entire venue, except the intimate lobby-bar area. The new production is called “Southern Gothic” written by Leslie Liautaud and is celebrating its World Premiere at Windy City.

This production is called “immersive theater” and is limited to audience size as we are on the set from start to end. First, they have built a house with yard and porch in the theater! Yes, a house, that is located in Ashford Georgia. Designed by Scott Davis, this house has a charming living room, kitchen ( cabinets are fully stocked), dining room, linen closet, bathroom (non-working) and other doors, that look and feel very realistic. The furnishings and props in this production (Eleanor Kahn) are about the 1960’s and are spot-on! Since we are in a house, the lighting is more actual  thantheatrical but Becca Jeffords has done a solid job, and the sound (Jeffrey Levin) is perfect. Elisa Hiltner’s costumes appear to be straight out of the Sears Catalog from that era and the fight choreography (which is a very important part of this production) is by Max Fabian. Great work!

Now that we have the tech aspects out of the way, let me take us back to the start.

We enter Windy City Playhouse located at 3014 West Irving Park and are handed an invitation to a surprise birthday party for Suzanne Wellington (Brianna Borger), who is turning the BIG 40! As we enter the actual theater area, we are shown the pathway to the entrance to the home owned by  Beau and Ellie Coutier, our hosts for the evening. Before entering the house, we watch these two prepare for their party, by cleaning up, preparing hors dourves, and getting the birthday banner hung. Ellie is played by Sarah Grant and her hubby, Beau by Michael McKeogh. Beau is a recovering alcoholic and as the evening wears on, we will learn a great deal more about each of these people.

The first guests to arrive, far too early ar the Wellington’s. Yes, Suzanne and her hubby Jackson (deftly handled by Paul Fagen) surprise their hosts by arriving before the other guests. By this time, we have learned that the caterers will be late and we have watched Beau and Ellie scramble to make some type of treats for their guests.  they serve chips, crackers with spam (a delicious treat?), Twinkies, Check Mix and popcorn, which we can partake of as we mill about the rooms. Yes, we are watching the action between these characters while we walk amongst them!

There are several stories in this evening’s entertainment. I certainly do not want to give away much of what you will see, but I will tell you that you should make sure that you move about, from room to room and try to capture all of the smaller stories that are going on. Stories such as who might be sleeping with whose husband or wife? What is happening on the local political scene? This involves Charles Lyon ( Brian McCaskill is powerful in this role) and also, listen very closely to the dialogue between Charles and his wife, Lauren ( played to perfection by Christine Mayland Perkins). There are also notable little scenes ( in the kitchen) between Charles and  Ellie ( I will say no more about this).

The other cast members are Tucker Alsworth (Peter Ash) and his girlfriend, Cassie Smith ( the incredible Ariel Richardson) who has her own story to tell. Remember, this is the 1960’s and we are in Ashford, Georgia and Cassie is African-American. This 95 minutes of uninterrupted “eavesdropping” was created by Amy Rubenstein and Carl Menninger and to bring it all together, they brought in Director David H. Bell. Need I say more?

This is a very slick production, cleverly done so that each and every audience member feels that they were involved ( well, almost). we  moved around from room to room, trying to avoid becoming part of the action, we could reach over for a snack or when the staff of the theater (they were there to protect us from going places where the action might get “hot”) came by with drinks (very nicely passed out). Lots of stuff happened, and I have the feeling that it is the same stuff, but, depending on where you plant yourself, you may miss a story or part of one so you may want to come back ( and bring a friend) so you can hear the “rest of the story”.

Amy Rubenstein, who is Co-founder of Windy City, who also conceived this show with Menninger, brought this venue to Chicago in order to make the theater-going experience something special. She wanted to break down the barriers (also known as the fourth wall) between audience and performers, so immersive theater was the logical way to go.

When you enter the theater, there is no program. You do get a copy of the invitation where everything is listed . They even have house rules of the Coutier’s:

Seating is available around the perimeter of each room on red cushioned seating/benches. DO NOT SIT ON THE ACTUAL FURNITURE!

Moving about from room to room is part of what is expected.

If you are unsure of where you can go or what you can do, there are staff members ( dressed in Playhouse shirts) that will gladly assist you.

Any snacks laid out on the tables in dining room, kitchen or patio are to be eaten. I think the NECCO wafers on the coffee table are not!

No photos. No cell phones ( this IS 1961) and no need for coats or large bags, so they will hold them for you in the lobby.

Remember, you are at a party, but to watch, not participate!

“Southern Gothic” is on what is called an OPEN run. As long as there are tickets being sold, they will continue to bring in fresh audiences.

Performance schedule is:

Tickets range from $65-$85

Box Office: 773-891-8985

www.windycityplayhouse.com/southern-gothic/

Parking is pretty easy in this area and on the side streets, no meters.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Southern Gothic”- accept the invitation and enjoy the party!