Highly Recommended ***** A play about Rosemary Kennedy is obviously not a happy one. But Lipstick Lobotomy, now in its world premiere at Trapdoor Theatre, is a touching story about friendship as much as it is an examination of the social forces driving medical disaster. Playwright Krista Knight was struck by inspiration after studying the journals of her great aunt, Virginia Harrison Hamann, who suffered from severe depression but craved connection to others and was a contemporary of Rosemary Kennedy’s. Knight imagines what might have happened if their lives had intersected, at the difficult juncture of desperation, conformity, and tragic error.
It is the brink of World War II and Virginia, or Ginny (Ann Sonneville), is deeply unhappy. She doesn’t have the words to describe it with more clarity than that, even though she’s spent most of her life staying current with psychology and chasing after the latest treatment. But she does have reason to be optimistic, having just checked herself into a resort-like facility that offers exercise and socialization in addition to exciting high-tech interventions like hormone injections, electroconvulsive shocks, or even experimental neurosurgery. And Ginny, ever lonely, anxious, and awkward, makes fast friends with Rosemary (Abby Blankenship), who is straightforward and curious. Of course, Rosemary is not nearly as happy to be there. She has an intellectual disability, for which her parents have effectively exiled her until she shows behavioral improvement and academic development, and she’s frustrated by her lack of progress. For her part, Ginny is frustrated that Rosemary is involuntarily subjected to the treatments Ginny hoped would work for herself.
It’s remarkable just how much complexity Knight weaves into ninety minutes. We see that, regardless of how much Rosemary may understand, Ginny’s inability to self-censor around her makes her the only person who speaks to her with authenticity. Ginny’s brother, Stuart (Dennis Bisto), frankly expresses his discomfort with Rosemary’s sexuality, made worse because he somewhat returns her feelings, and the other Kennedys are at a loss over her legitimately threatening rages. As for Ginny’s family, her mother (Ann James), isn’t convinced her problem is physiological at all and has good reason to think it’s rooted in external prejudices, while Stuart holds that if Ginny’s problems are as serious as she claims, that’s exactly why she shouldn’t be making decisions about her own treatments. It’s a conundrum, made worse by Rosemary’s family’s dwindling patience and Ginny’s guilt over how her anxious indecision impacts her own loved ones.
Director Kate Hendrickson has assembled a phenomenal cast. Ann Sonneville and Abby Blankenship not only disappear into their characters, but are deeply in tune with each other. Ann James strikes our sympathy playing both women’s mothers; Ginny’s, who is supportive but exasperated, and Rosemary’s, who is controlling and mired in regret. Hendrickson also keeps the show energetic by showcasing a plethora of dubious treatments, which if nothing else, add some levity to the proceedings. In the role of the arrogant, sexist, and heartless lobotomist Dr. Walter Freeman, Kirk Osgood provides us with a clear villain, but one of the most troubling aspects of the play is that it spotlights how hard it can be to decide when drastic treatments are a worthwhile. A lot of things obviously went wrong in medical ethics to result in lobotomies, but any medical treatment can easily be described in a way that makes it sound awful. Lipstick Lobotomy is a tough play about a difficult subject and a brilliant original work.
Lipstick Lobotomy will continue at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W Cortland Ave, Chicago, thru March 21, 2020, at the following times:
Thursdays: 8:00 pm
Fridays: 8:00 pm
Saturdays: 8:00 pm
Running time is ninety minutes with no intermission. A content advisory has been issued for extreme medical violence and brief strobe light effects.
Tickets are $20-25. Visit Trap Door Theatre or call 773-384-0494 or email boxofficetrapdoor@gmail.com
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