Wed. June 8, 2011
By John Olson
Rondi Reed plays her first role in Chicago since August: Osage County, giving a beautifully understated interpretation of a character that is the opposite her Mattie Fae in August. Peg is quiet, intelligent and sensitive. Reed gives us a sense of the supporting role Peg must have played for Gunner before his Alzheimer's set in, as well as showing her acceptance of her new and expanding role as caretaker to him. She's especially touching when playing the 17-year-old Peg, learning she's pregnant and putting off her plans for college to marry Gunner. There's a similarly effective and subtle performance from Cox as Jack, who's fragile and with pain of his own over his failed marriage and alienation from his reclusive teenage son, a computer game addict who rarely leaves his room ("How can I ground him when he never goes out," Tom asks).
Set against a realistic representation of a waterfront gray clapboard house by set designer Brian Sidney Bembridge, and with sound effects by Andrew Hansen suggesting the water in which the audience is presumably sitting, this production is strong enough for a Broadway transfer. It's entertaining and thoughtful, with three great roles that would be catnip for any number of actors, though it would be hard to picture anyone doing a better job than Mahoney, Reed and Cox.
The Outgoing Tide will play through June 19, 2011 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL. Tickets are available through the box office, by phone at 847-673-6300 or online at www.northlight.org.
Photo: Thomas J. Cox, John Mahoney and
Rondi Reed (by: Michael Brosilow)
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