“Sisters”

Life has changed! When we were kids, if we needed something, we would ask a parent or a sibling for help. Today, if you don’t have a sibling or your parent(s) aren’t available, it is “ask Siri” or “Ask Alexa.” Yes, AI a/k/a artificial intelligence, is where it is at. But what if your parent decided that there was no way you might have a sibling and in fact created one for you using this new technology called IA? In Matthew Libby’s “Sisters”, now on the stage in the Gillian Theatre at Writers Theatre, we meet Matilda ( an amazing character created by Brenda Barrie) who at a very young age is presented with her “sister” Greta ( played to perfection by Chloe Johnston, who is offstage until the curtain call), who is on her father’s computer.

This is a 90 minute ( no intermission play) that take sus through Matilda’s life, starting at age 6, then to age 45, back to 13, back to 6, forward to 48, then back to 23 and then 52, again to 13, then 48 and then near the end from her 60’s until her 90’s. Directed by Jessica Thebus on a simple set designed by A Inn Doo, we are peering into the life of Matilda, watching her adjust to her new “sister”, her father’s death, her divorce, her aging process, and ahost of other incidents in her life cycle.

We feel the closeness of these two girls, even though we know only one is real; yet, I think for a while, many of us start to think of Great as a real girl instead of a computer-generated being. There are moments when we imagine the two young ladies sitting together, enjoying a cup of tea or a glass of lemonade, talking about the boys in their classes. Yet, we know that this is not the case. As an audience, we start to listen to the conversations as if we are eavesdropping on two sisters talking about thier lives and their hopes and dreams. Just when we start to feel that Great is as real as Matilda ( or “Tilda” as she likes to be called), we realize that the voice we are hearing is in fact, computer-generated.

I am not one to give away some of the mystery that makes this story so realistic, but I will tell you that as the years go by, Great asks her “sister” to help her obtain some sort of body so that she can leave the house and be more like Matilda. Promises get broken, and computer hacking spoils the relationship for years, and while those years are taking place, we get to watch Matilda begin the aging process, and see the brilliance of Ms Barrie as she does this with no changes of either make-up or wardrobe, juust the use of her body, voice and mannerisms. I am thinking a Jeff nomination for this one.

I am sure that it is difficult for Ms Johnston to work her role offstage, but she does it with great feeling and although she does sound like Siri or Alexa ( great sound work by Andrea Pluess and Harper Justus), there is a hint of reality in her voice and delivery, allowing for much greater feeling than we might expect from true AI. Bravo! On the tech side, the costumes ( Lia Wallfish), lighting (Eric Watkins) and co-projection design by Stephan Mazurek & Liz Sung allow for us to see, and feel the time go by, setting us up for a dynamite and very special ending.

“Sisters” will continue thruNovember 8th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays    2 p.m.  and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  and Fridays     7:30 p.m.

Saturdays         2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays           2p.m. and  7p.m.

OPEN CAPTION PERFORMANCE   9/17   7:30 p.m.

ASL INTERPRETED                                   9/19   2:00 p.m.

Pay What You Can  Sundays- 8/23  7 p.m. and 9/27 at 7 p.m. , Saturdays 10/31 at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, 11/5 at 7:30 p.m.

Writers Theatre is located in Glencoe at 325 Tudor Court  telephone 847-242-6000  or www.writerstheatre.org

Tickets start at $75 with discounts for veterans, firefighters, police officers, industry professionals,  students, educators and their families

Plenty of free parking and just a short walk to the train station-GLENCOE stop.

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