” N “

★★★ What happens when we put two people together that have absolutely nothing in common? In ” N “, written by  David Alex and now in its World Premiere at The Greenhouse Theater Center, we meet a matronly, African-American widow, Mrs. Page ( played to perfection by Stacie Doublin). She was a political activist in her youth ( campaigning for Barry Goldwater, despite his stance on some equal rights votes) and now lives within her walls. Her son, only wanting to protect her, hires a young man, Eddy ( deftly handled by Ryan Smetana) an out of work actor ( which at one time or another is true of possibly every young actor) to handle the task. For him, this will e a better lifestyle than he is used to, but as he finds out, living with another person is not always that simple.

Mrs. Page is an avid believer in astrology and upon meeting this young man quickly does his chart to see if they are compatible for him to even start the job. We learn, over time, that part of her choice to never leave home was due to some charting that she had done in the past. So here we are. The matron and the actor..she African-American, he White. While they have some skirmishes along the way, little by little, they are learning to live “with each other” and each others boundaries.

Then, Eddy gets an acting job. It turns out this will not interfere with the caretaking, but as he works the script, he is asked to add  The N-Word into it. Eddy is repulsed by this word and refuses to say it. EVER!

From this point, we learn more about each of the characters and their beliefs. Each learns about the other but it also seems that each also learns a great deal about themselves. Eddy’s refusal to accept this word also gets him in trouble in a local bar where he is with his “best friend” DeShawn (  Reginald Hemphill) which leads to a bar fight and a loss of dignity for Eddy as well as a little more distance between him and his employer. I will not let out what happens in th end, as I do not “spoil” stories. Watch closely and you will see that Alex is able to bring the personalities of these two extremes into another level. One that will , in all likelihood, make you feel good. The voicovers are done by Maggie Speer.

Smoothly directed by TaRon Patton on a wonderful set (Grant Sabin) that is one of the best I have seen in the smaller upstairs studio at The Greenhouse. The technical aspects of the production are superior: lighting by Richard Norwood, sound by Shawn Wallace, costumes by Shanesia Davis and props by Sarah Richman. For 100 minutes over 6 scenes we watch a story evolve into something of great value to each and every patron of the theatre.

 ” N ” will continue Thru – Nov 17, 2019 with performances:

Price: $25- open seating

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 773-404-7336

www.greenhousetheater.org

Greenhouse Theatre Center is located at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue

Upstairs- Studio-theater

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