“Dishwasher Dreams”

Highly Recommended **** After the last 18 months PLUS,  we are all  desperately need of! laughter. Writer’s Theatre in Glencoe is delivering! While we are used to regular book plays and musicals in Glencoe, they are bringing something just a little different to their stage. A one man ( or if you count the Musician/Composer/Arranger Avirodh Sharma- two) show about a comedian’s life and his family history. “Dishwasher Dreams” , written by Alaudin Ullah, who also performs the entire 90 minutes of story telling, takes us back in time as his father left India ( the area that became Bangladesh) and arrived in New York’s “Spanish Harlem”.

We learn about his father, who came here to find his “American dream” of being a restaurant owner, did so, and gave it up. His father also lost a wife and returned to his country to find another. We learn how she was found and how he was born and raised. There are many very funny moments dealing with family, relationships, work ethics, dreams, reality and baseball (in particular The New York Yankees and “Mr. October”/Reggie Jackson).

Immigration and racism also enter into the story and if the facts are real, we also learn about one of America’s greatest actors, Sidney Poitier and his movement from dishwasher to screen-star. A lovely part of the earlier history of Alaudin’s father. Back when most of this took place, comedians of color did not get the play that they deserved. The history in this entertainment starts back in the 1930’s and ends around the late 1970’s or so it seems. Alaudin’s alter-ego hero was comedian George Carlin. I must say that I myself always thought of Carlin as pure genius, so I am not surprised to see a young comic, looking for direction , might just take a stab at doing what George does.

The show began with some wonderful music played by Sharma where he warmed the audience up to the mood of the “Silk Road” and even had us clapping ( on cue). A delightful 5 minutes or so. Very calming and taking us away from the stress of our day.

Directed by Chay Yew, who used the entire stage, having Ullah move from area to area to tell new anecdotes or start his routines. We go through time  and one needs to keep up to date on who he is playing in each scene. Is he his father? Is he himself?

Part of the story is that his dream is to be in films- not “Bollywood” style, but American films where everyone does not dance in the streets to end the story. He is getting his big chance when he is told that his mother is sick and possibly dying. He was there for his dad, can he do likewise for his mother?

The funny is real! Most of us are unfamiliar with the culture of the Indian population. Our area is one that has a huge population of East Indians, Pakistani’s and others. For several years, when I was in Yellow Pages ( he makes a joke about that as well- “Google on paper”), I was active in the Devon Northtown Chamber of Commerce, attending many of their functions and holidays. It was quite educational and it may have helped me to “get” some of the humor that Ullah tosses out. I loved what he said about the medical shows and films we are used to. Very few Muslims in the shows, yet, visit any hospital where lives are being saved and read the name plates of those doing the saving- no smith or Jones, but rather Patel, Khan, Shah and Lee.

Ready to laugh? Your opportunity to see this very funny show will expire January  23rd, 2022

Performances are as follows:

Wednesdays  3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Tickets  are $35- $90 and can be purchased by calling 847-242-6000 or online at www.writerstheatre.org

The theater is located at 325 Tudor Court in downtown Glencoe with lots of free parking, and for those who prefer a train, the train stops about 150 yards away.

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