***** I enjoy attending Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s “Steppenwolf For Young Adults” programs. In fact, of late, I have attended on a school day when the busses roll in bringing young people to the theater located at  1650 N. Halsted. Since the plays are indeed written with them in mind, it is great to share these moments with them.
Currently, this program is offering a World Premiere written by Matthew Paul Olmos titled “A Home What Howls ( Or The House What Was Ravine)”.

The play is 95 minutes of terse drama, with a few  places where comic touches break the mood. The first scene is a little confusing. Here we meet Manuel and Abrana Vargas ( brought to life by Eddie Torres and Charin Alvarez, reminding me of their great work as members of Teatro Vista in Chicago). They are fearful of what is going on around their home and of the coyotes that are surrounding their home. Their daughter , Soledad Vargas (deftly handled by Leslie Sophia Perez) is in the city, fighting for her family’s right to live on their land. Her encounter with a city employee, Frank ( the always reliable Tim Hopper), allows us to hear how a city planning committee works. They seem to decide what they want without giving thought to those that will be displaced due to the so called betterment for the area!

When hope starts to dwindle, how far will she go, and what will she be forced to leave behind? This is a story drawn from the real life struggles of displaced communities around the globe. There is a coyote in the play ( Isabel Quintera is wonderful in this role and as the old lady as she travels to Soledad’s “famila” on a train that leads nowhere!. Hopper also plays the train conductor who appears to represent society.

There are some surprises that come up in the sub-story, and I would never give that away. You can draw some of your own conclusions about ghosts, coyotes ( and who they represent) and the politics involved. I found myself drawn into the stories and the characters and their struggles to survive. How far can or should one go to protect that which is theirs? I grew up watching relatives who lived on Taylor Street lose their homes to The University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus. Yes, they were paid for the property, but was it the real value? And who puts the value on memories that went with the home?  In this play, you will find a shocking surprise at the end. Under the direction  of Laura Alcala Baker, we move at a great pace to get there. The stage is arena or in-the-round so the set is very sparse, but efficient ((Lauren Nichols), the lighting (Lindsey Lyddan) and sound ( Peter Clare) perfect. I loved the original music (April Dawn Guthrie) and the costumes (Uriel Gomez) were perfect.

This play is recommended for 8th grade and up. It is a play that can be seen by the family together and should open up some interesting conversations.

“A Home What Howls ” will continue Thru – Mar 2, 2024 with the following productions open to the public. Weekdays are for school groups, but if you cannot get to this during the open performances, it might be worth a call to see if they can get you in at 10 a.m. during the week. Watching the kids react added to the enjoyment of the performance.