When Martha Lavey became Steppenwolf Theatre’s artistic director almost two decades ago, she invited me to lunch to pick my brains about the fringe theater scene. With so many resources at her disposal, she explained, she felt a duty to share the wealth with the smaller itinerant companies in town. I knew her good intentions were genuine (we spent time together in graduate school, and I’d seen firsthand her commitment to experimental work), but I doubted the demands of an oversize, heavily mortgaged, subscriber-dependent institution would leave her much room for noblesse oblige.
I’d say a better gauge of Garage Rep’s success is the willingness of participants to think big and fail. By that standard, this year’s lineup is a resounding success.
It’s a tall order, and like Hall, Hobgood and Johns waste nearly their entire first act letting their characters diddle, discussing geopolitical issues or demonstrating their endearing quirks. But nothing is at stake for any of them until the very end of the act, forcing Hobgood and Johns to send act two into overdrive without due regard for plausibility. Under Hobgood’s direction the cast are disarmingly credible even as their story careens off the tracks, and the audacity of the play’s vision is both admirable and sobering.
Through 4/20, various times Garage Theatre 1624 N. Halsted 312-335-1650steppenwolf.org $20
