“4000Days”

Recommended *** Try to imagine being in an accident, then in a coma for three weeks. When you come to, you find that your mind has erased the past 11 years ( “4000 Days”). That is the story-line of Peter Quilter’s “4000 Days” now on stage at  The Pride Arts Center. This writer, who brought the world the Judy Garland Bio “End of the Rainbow” digs deep into the characters involved in this taut story about a man, his lover and his mother. It is a pure love triangle  but with a few minor changes at the corners..

Directed by Jay Espano on a set designed by Foiles ( a  unique work of art). The entire story takes place in Michael’s hospital room. Michael ( Marc Prince) When we enter the venue, Michael is on the stage, in the bed and “in a coma”. For almost 20 minutes of people entering the theater, he just lays there looking angelic in his sleep.

We meet his mother, Carol ( played with much zest by Beatriz Jamaica) and then Paul ( played to perfection by Michael Penick).It doesn’t take long to see that these two are at odds with each other. Carol feels that Michael’s life changed when he fell in love with Paul and Paul feels that Carol is blocking Michael’s recovery. The fighting is powerful, each trying to return to life as it was before the accident. This is a tug-of-war like none other!

In watching Michael return to his “old self” during this 110 minutes of story ( there is an intermission) we learn that he was a painter and that when he entered his relationship with Paul that all changed. That may have been when Carol felt that her “baby” was stolen from her. One sees that Paul truly cares for Michael, but perhaps only on his terms.

This is a love story and not giving away what transpires is of great importance. I will tell you that Michael, little by little regains his memories of the past life he has led and that at the end he makes the proper choices in going forward.

There are three nurses, who are also a sort of “Greek Chorus” doing musical interludes to change scenes. Songs like “The Wee Small Hours” and “Yesterday” are just a portion. These ladies, Jenna-Rose Drea, Joselle Reyes and Charlee Amacher also aid with the amazing work of art we watch happen on stage. A clever use of projections  designed by Hannah Morris. The costumes by Cindy Moon, the lighting by Brady Comenduley and props by Adam Halliwell add to the entire production.  There is a memory scene with post-it notes that is very cute and must be fun for the stage crew.

One of the problems with a small space is that the actors tend to think of the show as more a dialogue and fail to do something that I was taught back almost 70 years ago-“make sure that the back row of the theater can hear you). They failed to do so on a consistent basis . There were moments where they were more one-on-one , causing the audience members to strain or miss an important line. If you cannot mike the performers or the stage, they need to project. The words in this play are too important to miss!

“4000 Days” will continue at  The Pride Arts Center  located at 4139 N. Broadway thru October 31st with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

ADDED SHOWS: Wednesday October 20th and 27th at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $30 (open seating) except the Wednesday shows- pay what you can ( at the door only- no advance sales)

To order visit www.pridearts.org

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com , go to Review Round-Up and click at “4000 Days”.