“EthiopianAmerica”

[rating=2]It is always a treat to bear witness to a new work by a young playwright. In some cases, it is evident that the writer came to a point where they were unsure as to how to end the story. While I enjoyed the storyline of Sam Kebede’s “ETHIOPIANAMERICA”, being presented by def-i-ni-tion Theatre Company, upstairs in the Richard Christiansen Theater at Victory Gardens, I became confused near the end of this sharply directed ( Sophiyaa Nayar) 90 minutes of theater. The play begins as we enter the theater itself to find a seat. On the stage, we see a man sleeping on the sofa, a young lad, sleeping in a loft, high above and another young man dancing around the house. This is a prelude to a very high energy story about a family that has emigrated from Ethiopia to California.The parents are  Elizabeth Kifle ( a powerful performance by Gabrielle Lott-Rogers) and her husband, Grima (deftly handled by Joseph Primes). FYI- He sustains his accent throughout the entire 90 minutes, while she goes in and out.

They have been living the American Dream, or at least what they feel is that which is far better than what they left behind. They came to America with nothing and knowing that attaining the American Dream is not automatic, worked hard to earn the privilege. They have two sons, the eldest, Johnathan ( an extraordinary performance by  Simon Gebremedhin) who is about to enter college, and his younger brother, Daniel( played to perfection by Freedom Martin) who as it turns out might be the sanest of all the characters.

Here begins the problem of continuity. Is this family living the American Dream? Girma appears to rely on his liquor and smokes to get through the day. The boys seems to want to sleep and watch TV all day and while Elizabeth seems to be caring, she evidently has no control over any of the men in her life. Are they living in their pasts? This would refer to the parents as I am unsure  the boys ever lived the torment that the parents did. It seems that the ghosts of their past are still haunting them, but Kebede never explains why Girma beats his wife., or why the boys stand by and let him.

There are some great moments, some of laughter and others of sadness in this story, but I think that the story is not complete and that while moments are fine to have, we need them all tied up so that the story ends in a way that satisfies the audience. The satisfaction should not come from the fact that it is over, but that we have a true understanding of the plight that this family is feeling. Surely they are working to adjust to their lives in sunny California in their chosen country. But when Johnathan leaves after a fight with the family, and comes back as a college student, people ( myself included) have to wonder, “What just happened”? Time just disappeared.

I think that this play is a work in progress and can be fine-tuned so that we have a start, a middle and an ending. I would be very interested to hear back from you as to what you felt ( should you see this production). The actors are terrific. The set is well done ( Eleanor Kahn), the lighting (Eric Watkins) and sound (Joshua Willcox) perfect and the costumes (Paul Kim) fitting. Therese Ritchie’s props are perfect and the fight choreography (Maya Vince Prentiss) dynamic.

“EthiopianAmerica” will continue at Victory Gardens ( Biograph) upstairs thru June 9th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  8 p.m.

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  2:30 p.m. and  8 p.m.

Sundays  2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15-$25 and seating is open. The theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. To order tickets call the box office at 773-871-3000 or visit www.victorygardens.org

To learn more about this theater company, visit www.definitiontheatre.org

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