“Ugly Lies The Bone”

***** Many of us have family members who went into situations they never anticipated due to wars in other lands. In my day, it was Viet Nam and many of my friends never came back. Others did come back, but not as they were and in many ways, they never found themselves again. In recent years it has been Iran and Afghanistan, but for many, it was the same. They were different now. They had left a life full of positives to go to a country that was very different and over the time there, their lives changed. In Lindsey Ferrentino’s “Ugly Lies The Bone”, now onstage at Theater Wit (Theater Two). This is the Midwest Premiere and as staged by Jonathan Berry brings a story of said “battle scars” to light.

Jess ( a powerful performance by Christina Gorman) has returned from three tours of duty. Of course her life has changed and what she returns to is not what she left behind. Her sister,Kacie (deftly handled by Cyd Blakewell) tries to make things easier during this transition back to life as it was, but anyone who has experienced war and battle scars know that this is impossible. While Jess is going through therapy, using virtual reality ( the voice is handled to perfection by Barbara Figgins, who also plays their Mother in the final scenes) Jess still has problems facing true reality.

Her sister has a boyfriend, Kelvin ( Eddie Martinez) who jess thinks is using her and taking advantage of. As we learn during this 90 minutes of theater, all is not what it seems to be. We also meet Stevie ( Christopher Acevedo) who we learn was involved with Jess prior to her leaving and joining up. He has since changed jobs, got married and become someone very different from the man who was deeply in love with Jess prior to her leaving

The set ( designed by Lindsay Mummert) is quite workable on the very small stage at Theater Wit. It is divided into three actual sections- the house, a gas  station ( where Stevie works) and the therapy area where Jess spends a lot of time. There is also a picnic area that is for one scene, but the majority of the action is in the house or the therapy room. Brandon Wardell’s lighting sets the mood for each segment and of course Director Berry knows how to use lighting to create the moods for each particular scene. The sound and original music by Christopher Kriz sets the mood of each scene and Saskia Bakker’s props are perfect.

This is a play that will give you cause to think about one you may have lost or a family member who came back from war different than when they left. This sterling cast under the keen eye of Berry brings it all together and shows just how amazing 90 minutes of theater can be.

“Ugly Lies The Bone” will continue Thru – Nov 15th with performances as follows:

Thursdays   7:30 p.m.

Fridays        7:30 p.m.

Saturdays   7:30 p.m. (there are two 3 p.m. performances 11/1 and 11/8 )

Sundays     3:00 p.m.

Theater Wit is located at 1229 West Belmont Ave.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Ugly Lies The Bone”.