*** There is nothing like a psychological thriller! Chicago is where we are now viewing the World Premiere of a new thriller/social satire called ” 7 Minutes to Live” written by Richard Lyons Conlon. Last week, he visited with us on my radio show along with one of the performers in this two- act, roughly two hours of intimate theater and storytelling. The producing company of this play, Unexpected Theatre Company,  has joined with  Chicago Dramatists and Prop Thtr to bring this to town and they are doing the show in one of the most intimate spaces in Chicago, Chicago Dramatists.

As I do with plays that play with social attitudes, situations and mystery, I will be very careful not to give anything away. I would never spoil the experience for you, the theater ticket purchaser. I will give you a little heads up about before the play starts. When you walk into the Chicago Dramatists Theatre located at 798 N. Aberdeen ( this is behind the corner where Chicago Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue meet ,( look for D’Augostino’s and you will see the entry sign) there will be a young man on the stage. He is dressed in his jockey shorts, t-shirt, and a dress shirt. He appears to have a broken nose and is handcuffed to a garbage dumpster similar to any dumpster you might see in an alley in Chicago. The rest of the set ( Stefan Roseen) looks like a comfy apartment that a single person might call home.

When the play begins, Henry ( well played by Ryan Hake), the man at the dumpster, begins speaking to us. He explains that he has only” 7 minutes to live” and that he will need about two hours to do so. Thanks to flashbacks, he can tell us his story and how he got where he is, so bear with him.

The story itself involves Henry, his friend Eddy ( played to perfection by Tomer Proctor-Zenker) , his girlfriend Vanessa ( Christine Watt is a powerhouse of energy) and last but not least, Luke ( deftly handled by Nathanael Vangine). These are the characters and what we see during this show is that everyone is not who they seem to be and the story is allowed to do some twists and turns as we deal with urban angst, privilege, true love, classical literature, the foster system, con-artists and social injustices.

Again, I do not want to be a “spoiler” so I will tell you that there might be some confusion as you watch the story unfold. Each character has their story, but also a back-story as we continue to learn more about each. Henry comes from a solid family, with a business that he now runs. Eddie is far more than we think as the story progresses and the relationship between Luke and Vanessa will knock your socks off.

Smoothly directed by Andrea J. Diamond, the flow of action never stops. In fact, during the intermission, there is constant activity on the stage. Not the usual set change, but instead a special scene involving Luke and Vanessa. Watch closely and you will gain some insight into their relationship. Becca Schwartz handled the intimacy and fight directions and did a truly “bang-up” job with both. Nick Cochran’s costumes were such that the characters were defined by the clothes they wore. I did think it strange that when everyone arrived at Henry’s apartment, he chose not to put pants on, but I guess they felt being on the street sans pants would have a greater impact.

Elliot Hubiak’s lights and Nick Jones’ sound were right on and I loved the props (Maryah Paige). The furniture in the apartment was realistic and the pantry and fridge items were as right on as I have seen in any smaller theater. Could this play be shortened and done as a 90 or 100 minute one- act? I think so. I think it would keep the audience glued to the set and the story line. Intermissions have a tendency to interfere with the story line in allowing the audience to drift away from the topic ( do their cell phones, answer e-mail etc). I would love to see what it would look like!

 

Presented by Unexpected Theatre Company

” 7 Minyes to Live” will continue thru – Sep 22, with performances as follows: