Thirst

★★★  War can change one’s life. History tells us this. C.A. Johnson’s “Thirst”, now on the stage at Strawdog Theatre Company is a very intimate piece that deals with not only war, but a sort of “famine” and a rebirth of both a person and a new family. It sounds confusing, but as this 90 minute play rolls out, we learn that there is a major shortage of water, where water is doled out in rations on a daily basis. There is a war going on that is not explained in great detail, but doesn’t have to be as what we learn from the war portion is that our main character , Samira ( a powerful performance by Tracie Taylor) and her husband are no longer. He is a part of the war and their daughters were lost during this event.

Samira escaped to the woods where she has begun a new life with Greta (played to perfection by Laura Resinger) who is white. They are now married and are raising a young boy Kalil ( deftly handled by Saniyah As-Salaam playing a boy for the second time in the past year). They are what appears to be a true family, but they are still in a war-torn, high racial tension war zone and Samira’s ex wants her back as he is now King of their area. Johnson lost me a little on this as I had no idea where they were in relation to the world, and when this might be or have been. Past? Present? Future?

This is a 90 minute play with some very tense moments. There are gun shots, a murder, a great fight (Sam Hubbard is a solid fight choreographer) and talk of death and memories. We see how war can alter the path in one’s life and in this case a direction that brings a period of great happiness along with some fear but in spite of all we see, there is a happy ending for Samira and Kalil. Other cast members are Johnard Washington, Tamarus Harvell and Gregory J. Fields.

The story explores many things that will evoke strong feelings. Politics, love/hate relationship, death, family, racial divide, gender divide , war and finding happiness to fill a void. Kalil , by the way, sort of tells us the story as a sort of narrator.

The set by Evan Frank fills this intimate space with the feeling of being in the woods. There is also an area that is back in the office of the King but as directed by Andrea J. Dymond, there is no conflict or distraction with the exception of one scene where Greta remains on the stage, not moving, for the entire office scene. This is a scene with great tension so I advise you to keep your eyes on  Samira.

The tech aspects of the production are solid with lighting by Adrienne Mlikelie, sound by Heath Hays, costumes by Jos N. Banks ( not to be confused with  the clothing stores) and props by Amanda Barth.

For those of you unfamiliar with Strawdog, they are committed to developing new works, re-imagining old works and delivering these works in an intimate setting.

“Thirst”, their last production in their current home, will continue thru February 15th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7″30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  4 p.m.

Tickets are $35, $18 for students, $26 for seniors and half price tickets/rush each day one hour prior to performance. To purchase call 773-644-1380 or visit  www.strawdog.org

The theatre is located at 1802 West Bernice ( just off Ravenswood) with plenty of parking. They will be here for the rest of this run and then move to another location.

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