“The Porch On Windy Hill”

[rating=4] What did you do during the “Covid quarantine? Many of us caught up on all of the TV shows and flix that we had not had time to see. I know that with no theater and many restaurants doing delivery and carry-out only ( unless they had outside dining), we were at a loss. In a new play conceived and directed by Sherry Lutkin, now on the stage at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, we meet a couple, Mira ( played by Lisa Helmi Johanson), a violinist and her boyfriend, Beckett ( deftly handled by Morgan Morse) a folk song collector. They can no longer stay cooped up in in their Brooklyn apartment, so they decide to head up to the hills of North Carolina.

It is their feeling that they can be inspired into their love of music in the area where Mira grew up. For the most part, they have been sleeping in the van or in sleeping bags on campgrounds. They are feeling better after having left the big city and along the way, Mira begins to feel the pain of her past. During their search for what they are seeking, they do come up to the town where Mira was raised and also the home of her estranged grandfather, Edgar ( played to perfection by David M. Lutken , who also is one of the co-writers of this play along with the other cast members and Sherry Lutken).

Mira is biracial . As  a child, her father  left them. and her mother took her away from the hills of North Carolina so she would not have to worry about prejudice. It has been 18 years since she has seen her grandfather, who has still yet to speak to his daughter. Along the way, as these three learn more about each other and sing songs and play many musical instruments, we hear some great old country songs, watch them drink moonshine, beer, and get to rekindle the grandfather-granddaughter relationship.

This is a warm story that treads lightly on relationship building for Mira and Beckett, but when it comes to Mira and  Edgar, you might want to make sure you have two tissues for the second act. Yes, we learn about their past and the family, but of greater importance, we see that their love of music is magical and binds them together.

The set designed by Mara Ishihara Zinky is about as realistic as you can get. I recall spending a summer in Marengo Illinois in a house that was just like the one she built on the stage. I swear this was that house. The lighting (Lindsey Lyddan) is perfect and the sound (Rick Sims) is perfect when they are singing. They are wearing body microphones but somehow when they speak, they are turned down. Northlight’s theater is not huge, but I suggest they consider using the microphones so no one misses any of the wonderful dialogue in this story. The costumes by Gregory Graham are right on and the props (Jim Guy) are plentiful and about as accurate as one can get.

“The Porch On Windy Hill” will continue thru May 14th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays   1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays       7:30 p.m.

Fridays            8 p.m.

Saturdays        2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. ( except -no evening on May 13th)

Sundays         2:30 p.m.

Tickets range from$30 and are available at the box office  847-673-6300 or online at www.northlight.org

The theater is located in the North Shore Center for Performing Arts located at 9501 Skokie Blvd. ( just South of Golf Road/Old Orchard) with plenty of free parking.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Porch on Windy Hill”.

Run time: 2 hours 20 minutes with one 15 minute intermission.