Julia W. Rath
*** “You Will Get Sick” is a quirky, surrealistic play with a stellar cast. What a joy to watch the chemistry and verbal sparring between Amy Morton and Namir Smallwood, who work so well together on stage! They play two needy characters, each of whom with their own vulnerabilities and weaknesses. But they both learn to accept each other for the flawed personalities that they are. Under Audrey Francis’s direction, these characters nicely come to life. Yet over time, the story gets more convoluted than it needs to be.
Great acting transfixes the audience at the beginning of the show. It starts out clever and funny, with lots of f-bombs. An unknown man (Smallwood) is an individual whose given name we never learn. Although he wants to hide the fact that he’s very sick, he nevertheless reaches out for help. He writes up a flier, where he offers to pay some stranger $20 to listen to his troubles concerning his increasingly debilitating and incurable illness. A considerably older woman named Callan (Morton) answers his advertisement, because she is in desperate need for money to live on—and to continue her acting lessons and pursue her professional goals. From her point of view, it’s all about a monetary relationship. Here the story pokes fun at a major healthcare crisis of our time: where strangers are paid to look after an ill person but have no real interest in caring for them or attending to their needs. Every time Callan does even the littlest thing for the younger man (like get him a glass of water or listen to another gripe), well, then that’s another fifteen dollars, and that’s another twenty, and so on. And he pays her even more than what she demands!
As time goes on, the affection between the two of them grows, so much so that the exchange of money starts to become a coverup for their real feelings for each other. Yet both live lives of fear: The man is failing physically and doesn’t know how his illness will present next, and she doesn’t know what to do about her failing acting and singing career. Yet each of them tries their best to continue on the course they’ve already established for themselves. Callan, for example, desperately wants to be cast in the role of Dorothy in an upcoming stage production of “The Wizard of Oz.” She even goes so far as to buy the outfit that Dorothy once wore in the movie plus a yellow mat to portray the yellow brick road. But none of this makes her talent any better.
The show, however, takes a weird and surrealistic turn, and suddenly we realize that the characters themselves are actually taken from the pages of “The Wizard of Oz.” At some level, Callan is really Dorothy and her new friend is really the Scarecrow. This becomes all the more obvious the sicker the man gets and the less he can move his body. Other characters include the Scarecrow’s figurative brother, the Tin Man (Jordan Arredondo), who takes the name Patrick in human form. The Scarecrow’s figurative sister is the Cowardly Lion (Sadieh Rifai), who takes the name Polly in human form. Because she represents the lion, she wears a fur coat. Then there is the flimflam man akin to the Wizard of Oz (Cliff Chamberlain), who is selling “bird insurance.” Well, if you’re a scarecrow and ripe for the pecking, then perhaps this becomes a necessity: like health insurance. This part of the story is very creative!
We are also told towards the beginning about this one woman who had her husband grabbed by birds and taken away. Though we never see that, it is alluded to throughout via the set design with all sorts of whimsical and wonderful crow silhouettes, thanks to the fine work of Andrew Boyce. Sound design by Willow James is perfect, and of course, we hear the crows as well. The costuming by Raquel Adams is could not have been better! In one of the highlights of the show, we see Chamberlain performing magic tricks when he presents his “bird insurance” business cards to potential clients. Kudos to Skylar Fox for the magic instruction in this scene and in others where the characters mystically emerge. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was the significance of Chamberlain playing a crying waiter, shortly followed by a waiter who isn’t crying.
Arredondo is also the narrator of the tale, and this becomes obvious later in the show when we finally see him in person, holding a microphone. What isn’t entirely clear is whether he is a separate character or whether the Tin Man is supposed to be narrating the performance. Putting that issue aside, I felt that the narration was not needed, because most the action and dialogue is rather obvious, at least, it was to me. In fact, “the voice of God” only serves to put us at a distance from the characters, making the audience feel even more removed from the story than we already are. Did Noah Diaz, the playwright, believe that we couldn’t understand what is happening in the characters’ minds if not for the voiceovers? Or was this Diaz’s attempt to depict a metaphysical plane in between the real world and the unconscious one, namely, at the level of the dream-state or the subconscious mind? And if so, is this the man’s subconscious, or the Scarecrow’s?
This tale shines a bright spotlight on what can happen when an individual becomes out of touch with their mind, body, and spirit. Neither Callan nor the man knows who they are or what they are, or what they are supposed to be. Hence, the most important thing that they come to realize is that you must go inward to examine yourself. The main characters try to do this to a greater or lesser extent, and that’s why a significant portion of the show is devoted to yoga and taking acting lessons, that is, to feel what’s truly inside. So Callan invites her new friend to join her in a class, where they try out becoming a lion and then a tiger (but not a bear, oh my!). But the two of them fail to realize that in ordinary life, they are equally putting on an act: by pretending to be human beings. And that’s why both find themselves sick, each in their own way. As both characters (taken from the “Wizard of Oz”) try to become fully actualized people, they simply become stuck… because they’re not really meant to be human! They are actually taken from pages in a book; from celluloid in a film.
The program booklet shows Morton and Smallwood underneath an umbrella together, with both experiencing a rainy day in their lives. From that graphic, I expected something very different from the performance: something more touching about their relationship that we could hold onto after leaving the theatre. Instead, we are left with a hopeful ending but not necessarily the one I expected. Although I found the story somewhat too absurd for my taste, the main problem with the script is that the audience is working much too hard to draw parallels between these characters and those in the original “The Wizard of Oz”—and I kept wondering why getting it right is so important.
It doesn’t help that all the cast members have been given numbers (one through five) rather than character names in the playbill and the press release. The numbers also contribute to some confusion about who all of the characters are supposed to be in the show (especially the minor ones), some of whom are superfluous. Plus using numbers rather than names further increases the characters’ distance from the audience. In fact, speaking of numbers, the acting deserves five stars but the script not so much. All in all, you should see this play and make up your own mind.
“You Will Get Sick” is playing through July 20, 2025, at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago.
Tickets range from $54.50 to $126.50 depending on the date and time of the performance and seat location.
Performance schedule:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays – 7:30 p.m.
No Friday performance on July 4th.
No Tuesday performance on July 8th.
No Thursday performance on July 19th.
Additional performance – Wednesday, July 2nd at 2:00 p.m.
Saturdays – 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sundays -3:00 p.m.
No Sunday performance on June 15th.
Accessible Performances
Audio-Described and Touch Tour:
Sunday, June 29 at 3:00 p.m.
(1:30 p.m. Touch Tour)
Open-Captioned Public Performances:
Thursday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 5 at 3:00 p.m.
ASL-Interpreted Public Performance:
Friday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m.
INDUSTRY NIGHT
For Theatre Professionals
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
6:00 p.m. Mixer in Front Bar | 7:30 p.m. performance
LIVING RADICALLY
For All Patrons
Saturday, June 21, 2025
4:30 p.m. Activation in The Loft at Steppenwolf
3:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. performance
UNIVERSITY NIGHT
For Professors and College Students
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
6:00 p.m. Mixer in Tap Bar | 7:30 p.m. performance
For more information about the show, visit: https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets–events/seasons-/2024-25/you-will-get-sick/.
To purchase tickets, go to https://cart.steppenwolf.org/overview/19280 or call 312-335-1650 or email customerservice@steppenwolf.org.
For general information about the Steppenwolf Theatre and to learn about their other offerings, see: https://www.steppenwolf.org/.
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com and check out Review Round-Up, but first, read what Paul Lisnek had to say
Paul Lisnek, Behind the Curtain, WGN+ and WGNRadio.com
****/4
They say there’s No Place Like Home…and Chicago….Amy Morton…has indeed come home, like a twirling tornado of energy, and thank goodness. She is a joy to watch.
“You Will get Sick” is quirky, yet familiar, unpredictable but follows a path that will become most familiar. It’s the perfect blend of drama, power and surprise that has made Steppenwolf Theatre the gem it has been for a generation in Chicago and of course on Broadway as well, as the Tonys pile up!
Namir Smallwood has been proving himself an invaluable Ensemble member with classic portrayals over the past several years, and when blended with the magical touch of Amy Morton we see this is a show with a brain….with heart…and with courage.
This vehicle is so perfect to bring Amy back home to the Steppenwolf stage on which she shines like the star she is…or perhaps like a rainbow…indeed a force powerful enough to fly over the rainbow in this production. Alas, I don’t want to give too much away.
Cliff Chamberlain demonstrates that he indeed has heart as he shifts from character to character playing humor with a bit of glorious absurdity…. in the best possible way….
It’s difficult to describe the plot of this show without giving much of its surprise away. Although I’m not playwright Noah Diaz would object to these leaks…he might say you are least guiding the audience…as the crow flies…and the direction is helpful. The connection to a classic becomes clear in time…well, you’ll fall like a pile of straw into laughter and wonder as the magic plays out and with a set in the final scene that make you feel like you’ve gone from black and white to glorious color!
Show Type: Drama
Box Office: 312-335-1650
Steppenwolf has done it again! Paul Lisnek
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “You Will Get Sick”.
New Podcast: “You Will Get Sick” by Noah Diaz is quirky and unpredictable but follows a path that will become most familiar. It’s the perfect blend of drama, power and surprise that has made Steppenwolf Theatre Company the gem it has been for a generation in Chicago and, of course on Broadway as well, as the Tonys pile up!
Here is Paul’s conversation with the cast: the legendary actor Amy Morton (Tony Nominee for August Osage County and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf), Namir Smallwood (Book Of Grace, True West and Bug), Cliff Chamberlain (The Minutes, Superior Donuts), Sadieh Rifai (The Humans, Ski Dubai), and Jordan Arredondo (making his Steppenwolf debut and seen recently in “In The Heights” at Marriott).
“You Will Get Sick” plays in the Downstairs Theatre in the Steppenwolf Theatre, through July 20th and tickets can be purchased at: www.Steppenwolf.org
The link:
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