“wyrd”

*** It is October! The perfect time to be thinking of Halloween, and with Halloween comes goblins, witches and scary stuff. Lazy Susan Theatre Company, the “new kids in town”, who are now in residency at The Greenhouse Theater Center, are bringing some witchcraft to  the second floor “studio” with Matt Minnicino’s “wyrd”. If you look at this title one way it can be pronounced “wired”, but it is meant to be said as “weird”.

This is a one act ( 105 minutes) story about three sisters. They are in fact witches, so of course they have powers that are special. Directed by Sonya Robinson on a set designed by Elly Burke ( who also did the costumes), the “studio” has no curtain, so we are able to see everything. This is an apartment where all of the action takes place that is half kitchen, with a very special refrigerator, and a living room. I believe there are bedrooms as well, but we never see them.

The three sisters,  headed up by Iras ( Nealie Tinlin) who is the matriarch and appears to have the most power, followed by Red ( played to perfection by Snag Flynn) a sort of trouble maker and then the laid back Snow ( Maria Ines Manuel) are each unique in their powers and their personality. Snow has found “love” ( or so she thinks) with Jan ( Blair Prince) a life coach. Red is the odd one in this story as she is in love with hate as shown when she goes after neighbor Stuart ( deftly handled by Layke Fowler) who is interested in all of the women residing in this apartment. His ego is large and he will find that he is no match for Red.

I won’t divulge what type of witchcraft you will see or the magic that takes place, but I will say that this show will hold your interest for the 105 minutes and you will find that there is some politics mixed in just for fun. This is definitely not a show for those who believe that witches are bad. It certainly is not a story like “Wicked” or ” The Wizard of Oz”, but is in fact one about sisters and if you dig down deep you will see that this was during the “Covid” period of our lives and what was transpiring around us.

This was a strange play to pick for a new theater company but as I got into it and watched the reactions of those around me ( they were much younger, for sure) they found the humor contained within and felt the feelings of Snow, who truly was searching for love. Was what she felt real?  Was she just wishing to feel the emotion? Is Red just hateful? Perhaps Stuart brought out the worst in her. Iras is the matriarch and keeps the “family” together, no matter what.

Again, I cannot divulge what takes place during this very “hot” story, but will let you know that there are sexual scenes,  there is language , not for youngsters, and all in all some things that may be upsetting in the story. They are all handled well by the intimacy and fight director ( Madeline Meyer ) as well as director Robinson. Amina Gilberts lighting and Pierce Howard’s sound are terrific and the magic ( Hannah Loessberg , who also did the props) quite spiritual.

In the press notes they say this play is a little Chekhov ( theater) and a lot “Charmed” ( a TV show) mixed in a pot. While that is cute, I think it is more “Charmed” and a little “The Others”. See it and then let me know what you feel. “wyrd” will continue thru October 26th with performances as follows:

Thursdays    8 p.m.

Fridays        8 p.m.

Saturdays   8 p.m.

Sundays     2:20 p.m.

The Greenhouse Theater Center is located at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue

773-404-7336

www.lazysusantheatreco.com

This is a new theater company, so give them a try. I think you will be surprised by what they bring to the stage at the Greenhouse

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