Wed. July 6, 2011
By John Olson
There are 16 communities in the U.S. called Middletown, according to the program notes for this production. Though a detailed history of the town in this play by Will Eno is given by its local librarian, the place it is intended to represent is none of the 16 American Middletowns as it is some sort of Purgatory – neither Heaven nor Hell, but some sort of place in the middle. The residents of this seemingly All-American community are nominally connected to each other – two of the five major characters are public servants (the librarian and a policeman) and the other three at least know each other. Still, the characters are shown to be essentially alone, in spite of the small measures of kindness (or even some instances of cruelty) shown to them.
The performances are uniformly touching and bitingly funny – with multiple smaller roles being handled by the insanely talented ensemble of Alana Arenas, Molly Glynn, Tim Hopper, Ora Jones and Keith Kupferer. The simple unit set of the street outside Mary and John's homes (by Antje Ellermann) is given an otherworldly glow of twilight and sunrise in the subtle lighting design of Matt Frey. Janice Pytel designed the everyday-looking attire that is its most realistic element and grounds the play in contrast to the otherworldly feel of the look and general mood of the piece.
The feeling and impressions left by Middletown, much of which communicate great loneliness, are certain to resonate at times for most of us. At the same time, though, Eno shows a basic decency in his characters that can suggest all is not without hope or value. Middletown is a funny and haunting play that should spark debate and reflection among its audiences for some time after viewing it.
Middletown will play through August 14, 2011 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted Ave., Chicago. For ticket information, visit the box office; call 312-335-1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org.
PHOTO CREDITS: (left to right) Tracy Letts, Brenda Barrie. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
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