***** Anyone who has ever read a Sam Shepard play knows that his stories are pretty “true grit”! Steppenwolf Theatre Company is now doing a production of “Fool For Love”, his 1983 intense love story that takes place in a steamy motel room in the Mojave Desert. This is a reboot of a play that enjoyed tremendous response back in the day, and for those who are into Shepard and his writing, they will find that even over 40 years later, it is still sharp and will leave you in awe.

The play is in its own way a love letter and the two main characters, May ( played to perfection by Caroline Neff) and Eddie ( deftly handled by Nick Gehlfuss) will hold you speechless as their story unfolds. This is a short play ( 68 minutes with no intermission) and since the story is revealed slowly, sort of like easing a band-aid off an open sore, I will let you watch for yourselves. The set ( Todd Rosenthal) appears to be a one story motel room that many might look at as one of those on Lincoln Avenue back in the 60’s, but we are in the desert, so it is even more remote. You will learn a great deal about these two characters from their action and dialogue.

Jeremy Herrin’s direction is super sharp and has plenty of physical activity to bring a more realistic feel to these two characters along with a third that comes to the motel room to pick May up for a “date”. When Martin ( Cliff Chamberlain nails this character) arrives it appears that May is in danger and so he wrestles Eddie to the floor. The mood of the evening changes and the story line opens up further. The fourth character in this story is The Old Man . You may not  recognize the actor playing this role, but the bearded man sitting outside the motel is Tim Hopper ( on TV he is the arson investigator on Chicago Fire and the new Maytag Man). Again, it takes some time to find out who he is and why he is just sitting outside the motel. But pay attention as it is of great import.

If you like tension in a story, symbolism, and explosive characters with several sub-plots, Shepard’s work is sure to please. I can tell you that spending an hour with Shepard and this sterling cast is well worth the ticket price and you will not be sorry that you were entertained by the strength of his words. The technical aspects of the production are also powerful. Lighting ( Heather Gilbert), sound ( Mikhail Fiksel), costumes ( Raquel Adorno) and fight/intimacy choreography (Samantha Kaufman) are all perfect.

This is more than a play, it is indeed a theatrical experience and while the actors do the show 8 times a week, I can almost guarantee that each performance will feel as if it is their first and that they are indeed the characters in the play, not the actors playing the roles. These are the best of the best doing a play that is about as true grit as a story can be.

 

“Fool For Love” will continue Thru – Mar 23rd with performances as follows: