“Ride Share”

Highly Recommended **** Writers Theatre of Glencoe is one of my very favorite venues. Over the years, when they had the bookstore theatre and with the original building and now even more so with their new building, they reach us. They do it with the plays they choose, standards, musicals and new works. During the pandemic, while they were not able to fill their seats, they searched for ways to bring us great work. Right now, as they prepare to open their doors again for “live theater” ( words I have been truly waiting to experience hearing), they are still finding ways to entertain us. Recently, many of us were luck to experience the last play they were doing when the pandemic began , “The Last Match” I a wonderful story) and now, “Ride Share” , a filmed premiere brought to us by Black Lives, Black Words co-founders Reginald Edmund (writer) and Simellia Hodge-Dallaway ( director) about one man’s ( one Black man) plight in life.

Marcus ( played to perfection by Kamal Angelo Borden) was a happy man, content with everything he had, a new wife, and a comfortable job when all of a sudden he was let go. With no work and a pandemic hitting Chicago, what else could he do but become a share driver. Yes, Uber, Lyft and delivery services came in handy for the many who found themselves in that position. In this brilliantly put together production, which I feel works only because of the filming techniques used, we hear his story and witness his experiences during a long hard night of his trying to make life work.

There is no way that this particular show would work on a stage, unless major changes would take place. I am sure that we would have to have the other characters ( like “Hellcab” did back in the late 1900’s). What we see in this one many show is one hour and twenty-five minutes of digging deep into the man himself. His dreams, his happiness, his sadness, his ups and downs… in other words, his life! We also learn more about how a black man sees other people responding to him and get a feeling for the life of a shared driver who experiences that of each passenger at least for a moment or two.

I will tell you that the language is adult and there are a few situations that Marcus lives through that may shake you up, but in order to learn about these you will have t experience the entire film- it is well worth it! Bolden is a wonderful actor and he brings all of the emotions that are need to convey this beautiful story.

You can experience this show thru July 25th . The cost is as follows: $40 for one viewer, $65 for two, $85 for 3/4 or $100 for more

go to boxoffice@writerstheatre.org to order your tickets . They will send you the link and be prepared for an experience that will be eye opening.

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

NOTE: I have several acquaintances who have been doing this type of work since last year and some of the stories they tell are very close to those that Marcus experiences.