“Two Out Of Three Falls” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

**** “Two Out of Three Falls” is a surprisingly refreshing and emotional play about professional wrestling and the people who make it so. Neatly directed by Ashley Yates, it tells the story of wrestler Johanna Goodish (Ellen Campbell u/s) and how completely her mind has wrapped itself around the death of her father. As the advance piece states: “In 1987, wrestling legend King Kong Bruiser was murdered and his killer walked away clean. In 2019, Johanna Goodish, daughter of the Bruiser, is unable to step out of his shadow. She plans to do the one thing that might shake off the ghost: kill the man who killed her dad, in the middle of the ring, live on pay-per-view.” But the story is much more than this: We see the extent to which Johanna’s psyche has been impacted by her father’s death: affecting her career trajectory, her romantic relationship, and the entire way that she leads her life. Plus, the introduction of the spirit world into the story (in the form of her father) serves to elevate the plot beyond the literal. It provides a structural engine to the story while heightening tension regarding what Johanna will do next.Bill Daniel’s exceptionally well-written script familiarizes the audience with Johanna’s plight as well as her inner quests. It illuminates what professional wrestling is about, that is, behind the scenes of a highly choreographed and well-staged set of matches. We observe how the wrestlers negotiate what moves they intend to make. We see how they are being coached to act and react in order to garner applause (or boos) from the audience. Is it truly a story of good versus evil? And is that what the audience demands? We also learn something about the financial aspects and politics of professional wrestling as well as witness the physicality of the sport and its real and simulated brutality. And yes, this play features quite a lot of physical contact so as to seem remarkably authentic. Highest praise must go to fight choreographer/director Kate Lass and wrestling consultant Axel Rico for creating actual physical battles between the characters and staging incredibly authentic fighting and sparring! 

What’s especially great about this play is its lack of predictability. It starts up slowly, but everything comes together tightly and well. At the beginning, Gilda Saxton (Holly Cerney) has suffered a tragic blow to the head, and we are told that Johanna has used a chair to inflict this. Johanna is told by her promoter (William Harding) that she shouldn’t return to the ring to fight again. But Johanna is persistent and attracts the attention of Jackie Cartwright, Jr. (Ron Quade), a less than ethical promoter who above all wants to see a good fight and make good money on the event. At first, Johanna doesn’t know who her opponent will be, but Jackie states that it is the obvious: Eduardo “El Moreton” Quinones (Sam Ramirez), the man who allegedly killed her father. And there are moments in the show when apparitions of her late father Amos “King Kong Bruiser” Goodich (Eric Frederickson) appear… but only to Johanna. We see how much she misses her father. He wants his daughter “Baby Bruiser” to avenge his death. This ultimately leads up to the big (proposed) matchup with Quinones. But telling you anything more about the plot might ruin things for you. What I can say is that not only does the sport have a psychology behind it but so does everything about this story. It can be understood not only on the level of Johanna’s thinking process but also in the physical fights among the characters.

We also see something of Johanna’s love life with her nascent and ballsy manager Meg Bishop (Saniafaith) as well as her complicated professional and personal interaction with her trainer Olympus Montez (Jamaque Newberry), who once worked with her father and knew him well.

The Factory is an intimate black box theatre, and I was impressed with the size and quality of the miniaturized wrestling ring, which takes up most of the stage. Kudos to set designer Manuel Ortiz, for figuring out how to create the largest ring possible, such that the audience can see it well from every seat in the house. Prop and effects designer Meg McGrath must be praised for the relatively few but essential elements to tell this story. For example, off to one side is a desk and two office chairs. On the wall is a Puerto Rican flag as Quinones is Puerto Rican… and he makes all sorts of winning comments about the island. Additionally, costume and effects designer Anna Rogers has created garb appropriate for a story about wrestling. Lighting design by Emmitt Socey and sound design by Gina Montalvo work well for this show. But speaking of sounds, most of all, I enjoyed hearing the grunts and groans from the characters, especially when landing hard on the mat. And don’t be surprised to see quite a bit of “color”, the meaning of which is carefully explained during the performance and also on a detailed chart of wrestling terms in The Factory Theater’s lobby.

Last Saturday night, the show started 40 minutes late. Apparently, the lead actor Brittany Ellis was unable to go on at the very last moment, and artistic director Michael Jones did a great job contacting the understudy to do the performance instead. And we could hear the second fight call from our seats in the lobby. After some time, I was beginning to wonder if the show was going to take place at all. But it was definitely worth the wait! The entire audience was thanked for our patience, considering that the performance ran until nearly 10:50 p.m., that is, after 2 hours plus an intermission. Because my guest and I needed to run to catch the 11:00 p.m. train at the Howard “L” (the last Skokie Swift train to Dempster Street), we couldn’t stay for the pizza that followed.

In all, the combination of psychology and physicality creates the play’s dramatic impact, plus Johanna’s interaction with the spirit world heightens the narrative and augments her inner dialogue. The audience can constantly see the wheels turning in Johanna’s mind—behind the decisions that she eventually makes. This not only creates empathy among those of us watching the performance, but there is never a dull moment! The acting is great, and the intimacy of the theatre nicely bridges the characters and the audience—as the theatregoers become not only the fourth wall but also the audience of the wrestling match. The title “Two Out of Three Falls” might provide some hint about the circumstances behind who might take the fall in the wrestling ring, but, then again, maybe not!

My guest and I were engrossed throughout. This is a play that I can highly—and heartily—recommend.

“Two Out of Three Falls” is playing through July 18, 2026, at The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard Street, in Chicago.

General admission tickets are $30.

Performance schedule:

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.

Industry night is Monday, July 13 at 8:00 p.m.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: https://thefactorytheater.com/ or call 312-275-5757.