The House Theatre Of Chicago Sets The Bacchae In The Backwoods

The House Theatre of Chicago’s premiere of The Revel, Damon Kiely’s backwoods Depression-era reworking of Euripides’s classical tragedy The Bacchae, has almost everything going for it. Leslie Buxbaum Danzig directs a nimble, grounded 11-person ensemble who for the most part imbue potentially stereotypical hillbilly hicks with psychological depth. Grant Sabin provides a striking, spartan set design that reinvents the often unwieldy Chopin Theatre and places the audience smack in the heart of the action. Jess McIntosh contributes period-perfect revival hymns. And Kiely writes with grace, assurance, and—most impressively—respect for southern rural characters.

The linchpin of the impending disaster is Agatha, Peter’s mother, who initially pleads with the women to return to the factory but quickly falls under the deacon’s spell. She’s so zealous that when the deacon must temporarily abandon his flock he puts Agatha in charge, setting up a mother-son confrontation that should unleash the epic passions Kiely tries to pack into the play’s grand climax.

Through 10/25: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 7 PM Chopin Theatre 1543 W. Division 773-769-3832 $30-$35