***** A Red Orchid Theatre has built a reputation for presenting hard-hitting, thought-provoking dramas—and Birds of North America is a perfect example of why. Originally presented earlier this year, Anna Ouyang Moench’s powerful play was so well received that it has returned for a fall engagement. After seeing it, it is easy to understand why.
The play follows the complicated relationship between a father and his youngest daughter over the course of decades. John and his daughter Caitlyn share a passion for birding, living outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in Maryland. But while they can easily connect over birds, their relationship becomes much more difficult when it comes to everything else.
John, played by John Judd, is a scientist, doctor, inventor, and climate activist—a man whose intelligence and passions sometimes become his greatest weaknesses. He is obsessed with his inventions, convinced that someday one of them will make it beyond the trial stage. He is equally passionate about climate change, declining bird populations and changing migration patterns.
But somewhere along the way, John becomes so consumed by his causes that he loses sight of the people standing right in front of him.
His wife, a doctor herself, is essentially the glue holding the family together—and the family’s sole provider. When she develops cancer, she needs her husband’s attention, companionship and support. Yet John struggles to pull himself away from his birds and his work long enough to recognize what his wife and family truly need.
At times, you almost feel sorry for John. Here is an incredibly educated, intelligent man who can understand complicated scientific problems but somehow cannot see the most basic problems developing within his own family.
Caitlyn, played by Cassidy Slaughter-Mason, is equally complicated. She cannot have children, her first marriage has failed, and she dreams of becoming an author but struggles to finish what she starts. She desperately wants a relationship with her father, but John’s inability to communicate his feelings creates one conflict after another.
And that is what makes Birds of North America so compelling. These aren’t characters who are simply good or bad. They are people who love one another but don’t always know how to show it.
Judd and Slaughter-Mason are remarkably believable together. You don’t feel as though you are watching actors performing as Father and daughter—you feel as though you are watching an actual family dealing with years of unresolved emotions, grief, disappointment and loss. Their performances allow the audience to understand both sides, even when you want to reach through the stage and tell one of them, “Wake up!”
Eventually, Caitlyn realizes that sometimes you have to walk away to save yourself. But just when you think you understand where the story is going, a surprising change in the plot brings everything back into focus.
Director Kristen Fitzgerald brings out the very best in both actors, allowing the emotional weight of the story to build naturally rather than forcing it. The production’s intimate staging at Red Orchid makes the experience even more powerful.
And what a stage it is.
Red Orchid may be considered a midsize theatre by the Jeff Awards Committee, but there is nothing “midsize” about the impact of this production. The theatre is so intimate that the stage is practically in your lap—and depending on where you sit, you actually have to walk across the stage to reach your seat. There is nowhere to hide, either for the actors or the audience.
That intimacy works beautifully for this play.
The set, with scenic design by Morgan Laszio, is filled with details that immediately establish the world these characters inhabit. Alivia Arizaga’s staging deserves special recognition as well. From the moment you enter and walk through the set, you can see the extraordinary attention paid to even the smallest details. Seojung Jang’s lighting design provides the finishing touch, helping shift the mood and emotions without ever distracting from the performances.
It is easy to see why Birds of North America has returned in the same year. The production received seven Jeff Award nominations, including recognition for Best Production of a Play in a midsize theatre.
More importantly, it is the kind of theatre that stays with you after you leave.
Birds of North America is ultimately about much more than birds. It is about fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, marriage, illness, climate change, dreams, failure and the painful realization that sometimes the people we love most are the people we have the hardest time understanding.
And perhaps the biggest lesson is this: You can spend your entire life studying the world around you and still fail to notice what is happening right in front of your eyes.
The production runs approximately 90 minutes without intermission.
Showtimes are Sunday at 3 pm, Thursday and Friday at 7 pm. Saturday: 3 pm and 7 pm. Till October 4th.
Red Orchid Theatre
1531 N. Wells Street, Chicago
Box Office: 312-943-8722
Birds of North America is one of those plays you really don’t want to miss.
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Birds of North America”.
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