“Lindiwe”

[rating=4] Try thinking a mixture of” Chicago Blues” and “Sounds of South Africa” and a cast that includes 9 men who form an ensemble that truly is remarkable ( and yet, they hardly speak), and you have the amazing “Lindiwe” written by Eric Simonson, now on the Steppenwolf Theatre main stage. This is another World Premier for Chicago, and one that I am proud to have witnessed. The story is a true love story with music that is written by Ladysmith Black Mambazo ( who is powerful and has a great vocal range),

The play marries the traditional South African sounds from the province of KwaZulu ( aka ZULU) along with the Chicago sounds od the blues and features the blues handled by Frank Russell  (bassist) and Buddy Fambro (guitarist) along with the music of Ms Mambazo  and her singers. They are: Mfanafuthi Dlamini, Msizi Shabalala, Sabelo Mthembu, Pius Shezi, Albert Mazibuko, Thulani Shabalala, Abednego Mazibuko, Sibongiseni, Shabalala, and Thamsanqa Shabalal- what voices and perfect harmony!The story can get a bit confusing as it deals with the boundaries between this world and the next! Ms. Mambazo and her “ensemble” performed her many years ago, and it was from that collaboration that Simonson’s book came about.

Directed by Simonson along with Johnathan Berry on a set designed by  Collette Pollard, we are taken to the lakefront of Chicago and to South Africa. The young lovers are Adam ( played to perfection by Erik Hellman, who also handles the drums) and Liniwe ( an incredible performance by Nondumiso Tambe). They are lovers and she is forced to leave the US, but Adam goes with her.

Her grandfather (Cedric Young is wonderful in this role and the other characters he portrays) and Clarisse ( deftly handled by Jennifer Engstom, who also takes on other roles) complete the main characters with the exception of one. He is the “Keeper” and is played to absolute perfection by Yasen Peyankov. Is he “God”? Is he “The Devil” Or is he just the “Keeper” that holds the two worlds together?

Pay close attention to what he does and says and try o see where he is coming from. They do have discussions after the performance as they anticipate a great number of questions on this. The play is close to two hoursa including a 20 minute intermission. I for one, would prefer a small trimming to make the entire show closer to 90-100 minutes without the intermission. I feel people lose where they were are they buy a drink or check their phones ( and we know they are doing that). There is a great love story that deals with sacrifice. I try not to give away anything, but can tell you that the Keeper has a difficult time dealing with the beautiful voice of “Lindiwe” and offers her options that make her life with Adam unbearable. Can they give up what they love for someone they love? That is all I can say. Great discussion matter, for sure.

The tech part of the production is without flaw. Costumes (Karin Kopischke), lighting (Marcus Doshi), sound ( Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen) and original music (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)

“Lindiwe” will continue at Steppenwolf Theatre located at 1650 N. Halsted Street thru  January 5th with performances as follows:

Price: $50-$114

Stage: Downstairs Theatre

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 312-335-1650

To order tickets online visit  http://www,steppenwolf.org

Running Time: 2hrs

 ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

ASL  Sunday December 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Open Captioning  Thursday, December 5th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, December 21st at 3 p.m.

Audio Description-Touch Tour  Sunday, December 15th at 3 p.m.  touch-tour at 1:30 p.m.

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