“The Wolf At The End Of The Block”

Recommended *** About a year ago, Teatro Vista did a World Premiere of Ike Holter’s  powerful  thriller “The Wolf At The End of the Block”, part of what will eventually be a seven-play-cycle taking place in a fictional area of Chicago called “rightynd” in Chicago’s 51st Ward ( we only have 50 right now). Keep your eyes and ears open and I will tell you when and where you can catch his others. I recall seeing this play and wondering just how accurate something like this can be. A story about a young Latino lad, who chose the wrong bar to have that drink at, and was beaten for doing so. Or was that the case?

This play is now on the stage at the very intimate space in Berwyn at The 16th Street Theatre, in the basement of the Berwyn Park District Cultural Center ( at least I like to think of it as this) which brings the audience far nearer to the action and the story. Abe, our hero(?) is played with  by Alberto Mendoza who brings a strong and powerful energy to the role. He is a hard -working “alcoholic” who due to stress in his life, decides to have a drink, and picks a bar that he has never gone to or even thought was open. As it turns out, this “closed” bar is a hangout for police officers to let it all hang out, thus the incident of the evening, where he gets hurt, involves a police officer.

I dare not tell you much more as I would never want to divulge the mystery of a thriller, so I will tell you that  Abe’s employer, Nunley ( deftly handled by Tony Santiago) is concerned about what has been done to his friend/employee and another “person of color”. Abe’s sister, Miranda ( Gabriele Diaz, new to our area, but a name that I feel we will hear more about) feels that it is time to do something about what continues to plague the “brown” population and gets in touch with a TV journalist, Frida ( Stephanie Diaz), who decides to take it to the people.

While they make their plans, Abe begins to fear that the cops will learn of what he is doing and come after him. In fact, his fear becomes such that his sister fears that she will also be in danger, so she begins to search for answers and what she finds kinds of rocks the boat. Nunley also concerned for the well-being of his employee and “friend” goes to the bar in question to see what he can find out. While there he meets James ( played to perection by Christian Isely) who as it turns out is a cop himself and tells Nunley what he heard about the incident of the night before. We will meet this man again, so pay close attention.

The intrigue of what may or may not have happened reveals many answers, some of which make sense, and others that mystify and confuse. Again, I would hate to ruin the spectacle of what Holter has written and what Lili-Anne Brown has done with her direction in the telling of this story. Is it cops are the bad guys story? Is it the cops are being blamed just because that is the thing to do? Everyone will see and interpret the story as they hear and see the story unfold, but to make it a better ride home, the 16th Street Theater does have a talk-back after the show so audience members can leave on a very positive note. This storyline is a sort of “jigsaw” puzzle where we think it is headed in one direction and then quickly, almost as if on a dime, it turns a corner and appears to be different.

The play runs 95 minutes with no intermission ( perfect) and will continue at The 16th Street Theater, located at 6420 West 16th Street ( just 4 blocks west of Austin Blvd.) thru May 5th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 15th at 3 p.m. ( there are no other Sundays)

Tickets range from $18- $22 ( a true bargain for theater of this quality) and can be reserved by calling 708-795-6704 or online at http://www,16thstreettheater.org

Street parking is free ( but read the signs) and there is a free lot one block west of the theater

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Wolf At The End Of The Block”