“Support Group For Men”

[rating=4]If you are seeking a solid piece of entertainment- a 90 minute ( no intermission) escape from reality, then the Goodman Theatre is where you want to be. The latest production on the stage of the Albert ( the larger of the theaters in the building) , “Support Group For Men”, is here for a short run (thru 7/29), so your opportunity is short. Written by a woman, Ellen Fairey, this play is about what it is to be a man today, as written by a woman. This is a story about a bunch of middle-aged guys, who not wanting to admit that their lives have “passed them by”, join together as a support group to be able to talk about the things they have “back-burnered” and in many cases, left behind in their lives. Each of these men has a problem or situation that they are having trouble facing ( or even admitting). The world has changed and progressed, while they have not!

While the story is about men, in reality it is about people and the problem with what we as a society see as “gender-labels”. What makes a man a man? What if a man is more warm- hearted and has feelings? Is he less of a man? The setting for this play is in an apartment in Chicago, in Boys Town. The bar downstairs of the apartment is filled with a gay and sort of carefree group of people having a great time, but are they all? The apartment is that of  Brian ( deftly handled by Ryan Kitley) , a forty plus character who manages the Apple store and is in love ( or is that lust) with a woman who is 20 years younger. He has started his Support Group so that on Thursday nights, he and his buddies can speak openly about their lives and likes, their hates and fears and enjoy the company of others. He has created the “stick”, which in reality is a baseball bat that he has designed to be a sort of replica of some ancient Indian tribal piece. He who holds it speaks, and all others are not freer to criticize or bring down the speaker.

Gathered in his apartment on this night are Delano (Anthony Irons), an old high school buddy, married and probably hen-pecked, but with a wife who has already told him that if he wants sex, he might look for it elsewhere, Kevin ( played to perfection by Tommy Rivera-Vega) an employee of Brian’s and Roger ( played to absolute perfection by Keith Kupferer) who seems a little different from the others, who are celebrating their right to be a group of men who support each other.

On this night, as we watch these men open up about their lives, we have a blast with one funny line after another and a quick look at each of these men indicates that they are not being as truthful and honest with the group ( or us) as we might want them to be. There are some problems with some of the people of the neighborhood and as it turns out there are some incidents that bring the police to the apartment. The officers,  Officer Nowak ( the always reliable Eric Slater) and his senior officer, Officer Caruso (Sadieh Rifia is a hoot in this tough Chicago cop looking or a man) show up to check out what might have taken place.  Roger feels that maybe the female cop is interested in him ( a man with little history in dating) and we can sense that he just might be correct. It turns out, there is another character in the story. His name is Alex ( divinely played by Jeff Kurysz) who when we first meet him, we might think he is a transgender or perhaps only a transvestite, but as we learn about him and his life, we see that one of today’s problems is that of gender labeling and judging the book before one looks at the authors notes on the cover.

I do not want ot give away a great deal of the mystery of this show, so I will leave you slightly hanging from this point except to tell you that what happens after Alex shows up is very realistic as the men truly open up about their lives and feelings and we see the fears that are holding them back. We get to watch each man transform from what they wanted us to believe they were to what they truly were and as we watch this unfold they become real people, not caricatures.

Finely directed by Kimberly Senior on a set (Jack MaGaw has outdone himself on this one) that makes us truly feel we are in a second floor flat above a bar on the North Side of Chicago with solid lighting (Jen Schriver) and sound (Richard Woodbury) and solid costumes (Noel Huntzinger), Senior has done a remarkable job of keeping the action flowing and the audience remaining intact from start to finish. This is a true escape from reality allowing the audience to have a wonderful and explosive laugh-fest while at the same time, learning more about each of their own individual situations ( and or problems).

“Support” is a warm and comical look at what might take place if four mismatched men became involved with each other in order to help each other to move their lives forward. What happens to each of the characters is what makes Fairey’s story work and guess what, the ending, as obvious as it might appear, has a few little surprises in the back of the bag! Exciting and at the same time, meaningful. You will enjoy!

“Support Group For Men” will continue at The Goodman Theatre ( in the Albert) located at 170 N. Dearborn Street, thru July 29th with a performance schedule as follows:

Tuesdays  7/10 and 7/24 ONLY at 7:30 p.m.                                                   

Wednesdays  7:30 p.m. (except JULY 4th- NO show)

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.on 7/5, 7/12 and 7/19 add 2 p.m. matinee

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ( no evening on 7/15 and 29th)

Tickets range from $25- $80 and can be purchased at the box office, by calling 312-443-3800 or online at www.GoodmanTheatre.org/SupportGroup

MEZZ-TIX are available at half price on performance days

$10 tix   students with ID, pay $10 for your chance to see this heartwarming play.

ACCESSIBILITY

7/21  topuch-tour   12:30 p.m.

7/21  Audio Described- 2 p.m.

ASL  7/25  7:30 p.m./

Open Captioned  7/28th  2 p.m.

more info , visit http://www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Access

Parking is available at loop lots. I suggest using public transportation

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

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