“Highway Patrol”

The play, now on the stage at The Albert Theatre of The Goodman Theatre, is a thriller with some very comic touches that is made up of hundreds of her personal tweets and direct messages that were received over many years. The concept was created by Delany herself along with Silverman and Dane Laffrey and Mike Donahue. The production is directed by Donahue and stars Delany as herself. Yes, this is her story and having her tell it makes it a very special night of theater.

We go back in time to 2012 when it all began. She began to get e-mails from Cam ( a marvelous portrayal by Thomas Murphy Molony) a teen with a medical problem that captures the attention and the heart of the actress. During the course of the story we learn that love has not been kind to Delany and to have someone appear to be in love with her and need her attention makes the end of a long hard day feel good, and let’s face it, we all need that “feel good” moment in our lives.

During this period of time, Delany also gets to know the grandma, Nan ( played to perfection by Dot-Marie Jones, who also plays other roles). Since it is a mystery, I will not divulge it all, but will tell you that the conversations end up going places that might make you feel eerie. There are things brought up that will have you ( and Delany) thinking that  this young man has been to heaven or beyond and back.

As we watch the story unfold, we feel that Delany depends on this young man who might represent the child she wanted to have or perhaps he is just what she needs to take her mind off her hectic filming schedule. We find her in her kitchen many nights, on the internet with a glass of wine in hand. The set by  Dane Laffrey is amazing with  furniture moving in and out, hospital rooms appearing and everything slides along to perfection. When we get to the end when Dana begins to explain and answer the questions that the audience is ( or may be) thinking, and  the projections (Yee Eun Nam) help to answer them. The sound design and musical composition  (Sinan Refik Zafar) , the costumes (Enver Chakartash) and lighting ( Jen Schriever) complete the picture that is unveiled in a two hour period ( one intermission). By the way, the title of the play doesn’t come out until late in the second act.