***** “Marble” is a marvel. A powerful story based on a witty and well-written script by Irish playwright Marina Carr, the Chicago premiere of this charming dramady is quite the treat! Delightfully directed by Kay Martinovich for The Gift Theatre, the play is both funny and devastating, as we watch how relationships between two married couples deteriorate over time, revealing a lack of communication about romantic disappointments and individual shortcomings. As personality conflicts give way to obvious differences in each character’s values, wants, and desires, the plot revolves about mismatched and dashed marital expectations. Excellent dialogue voiced by indubitably fine actors plus a polished crew makes this production a MUST SEE.The story unfolds in an Irish town where two married couples initially live rather mundane and predictable lives. But apparently, things are not so rosy under the surface. Two good friends Art (Paul D’Addario) and Ben (John Gawlik) suddenly find themselves in a bit of a quandary when Art confesses to Ben that he had a dream the previous night that he was making love to Ben’s wife Catherine inside a room made of marble. Ben is none too pleased. Why Catherine? Who knows? It’s just a dream…. But rather than the occurrence being dismissed out of hand, this fluke of a dream turns out to be one half of an interesting coincidence: with Catherine (Brittany Burch) just happening to have the exact same dream about Art on the exact same night and in the exact same marble room! What begins as an odd curiosity turns into a fiasco for all, while, at the same time, this premise sets up a deliciously funny yet highly perceptive and profound play, which hints at many essential truths regarding marriages—and divorces—in the modern Western world.The structure of the play is fascinating, with a story that makes use of the intersection of four separate types of dreams and how these impact each of the characters differently, depending on their personality type. The first dream is the one, alluded to a moment ago, where a person has no control over the inner workings of the subconscious mind during sleep. So how seriously must you take a sexually explicit dream? Could it belie some deeper meaning, if not also the possibility of supernatural influences on human life? More to the point, could it be that Art and Catherine share a secret fondness for each other? In time, knowledge of that shared dream subsequently affects the relationships between Ben and Catherine as well as between Art and his wife Anne (Cyd Blakewell), not to mention the friendships between the two men and the two women.
The second type of dream is a fully conscious one, that of aspiring to live a certain lifestyle within the structures of the real world. Here your life’s dream might be a realistic ambition for career or family success. It has to do with making all sorts of choices in life, such as aspiring to be in a stable relationship, raise children, live in a certain part of town, obtain income and the job of your dreams, and so on. So while Anne and Art seem to be superficially compatible, Anne is the one who holds things together with her need for organization and for ritual. She is duty-bound and wants the future to be as predictable and as smooth as possible. She knows that Art is a good provider, but at some level, she’s not entirely happy. She buys furniture, such as couches, to fill the hole in her heart, where love was once present. The couches may not necessarily make things better, but these material items somewhat ease the pain of a now loveless marriage. Anne thinks about the safety and security of the life she leads. Though her dream is to be happy, she can more or less live with being content. She is averse to any change in her routine and prefers the emotional and financial stability that her current lifestyle gives her. Thus, she has no use for casting aside social convention and her present family life in favor of the possibility of finding love elsewhere.
The third type of dream is the craving for adventure and for the immediacy of love and affection, excitement and passion. This is the thrilling life that Catherine yearns for. She is a free spirit, who craves a spark between herself and her romantic partner. She seeks to live in the moment and cast aside delayed gratification and the idea that the future will be better, in part because none of this ever really worked out in her marriage. So she opts for immediate pleasure in her life by forming relationships with people. She wants to feel the energy around her and not sink into nothingness. Basically, what would make her happy is being spontaneous and acting spontaneously rather than giving thought to the future. In contrast to Catherine, her husband Ben lives in the past: with the illusion that he and his wife are getting along and that they are still in love. He’s okay with believing that every day will be the same as every other day and requires nothing more than leading a predictable life. He is currently a man without a dream—and if he once had a dream, it was in the past and is now gone.
Finally, the fourth type of dream is the desire to seek out and find some type of meaning in life. For Art, who already feels nothingness, his dream of sleeping next to Catherine makes him realize that there could be much more to a relationship between two people and, by extension, much more to life as a whole. Or else why are we alive in the first place? Art’s sense of meaning lies in his vague hopefulness that things will get better for him in the future once he acts on his impulse to discover life’s significance. Once everything would suddenly come into focus, this would make living all the more worthwhile, above and beyond his current circumstance.
Basically, “Marble” shows us how everyone has a dream regarding what matters most to them in a relationship and in the larger experience of going through life—and that these dreams all differ. The characters in this play are not bad or violent people, just that years of marriage have eroded their affections and have drawn each couple apart due to unmet expectations. That being said, the decision that any one character might make to change the trajectory of their life clearly upsets the apple cart… and affects everybody surrounding them. This not only applies to the other characters in this play but additional individuals whom they are close to, such as their children, relatives, friends, and associates.
“Marble” runs through August 30, 2026 at The Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Avenue, in Chicago.
Tickets are priced from $45-$50.
Performance schedule:
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Sundays: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Special events:
Sunday, August 9: Scholar Sunday
Nationally renowned Irish literature scholar Professor Joseph Heininger from Dominican University, Claire Brennan of “Time and a Half Books”, and “Marble” director Kay Martinovich will discuss the play and the landscape of Irish literature. The conversation will be moderated by Gift ensemble member Maggie Andersen.
Sunday, August 16: Come Closer
Mark Larson, author of “Ensemble: An Oral History About Chicago Theatre” will facilitate a talkback with the cast of “Marble”, focusing on the importance of ensemble to The Gift Theatre and the Chicago theatrical scene.
Saturdays and Sundays, pre-show, live music of traditional and non-traditional Irish songs will be performed by Olivia Fergus-Brummer beginning an hour before the performance.
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to https://thegifttheatre.org/event/marble-a-chicago-premiere-by-marina-carr/2026-07-30/ or call 773-283-7071 or email boxoffice@thegifttheatre.org.
For general information about The Gift Theatre and to learn about their other offerings, visit https://thegifttheatre.org/.
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Marble”. photos Joe Mazza-brave Lux
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