Tommy’s life is a mess and so are his digs. He occupies what was probably once a garden room in the Dublin home of his old Uncle Maurice, who took over his upbringing when Tommy was a boy and is back at it now that Tommy’s a middle-aged divorced man on the skids. As rendered by set designer Todd Rosenthal, Tommy’s bit of the house is connected to the rest by French doors; it’s got its own outdoor entrance, a bank of tall windows, and a little sink of the sort that you might imagine Maurice’s dead wife, Maura, using to wash potting soil from her hands. I picture her setting coleus and geraniums along the window ledge.
Of course it’s only a matter of time until Kenneth finds his way through the garden door, too—coming off, in Dan Waller’s performance, exactly like a Pinterian thug. His sociopathic grace and soccer-player’s physique make it easy enough for him to dominate Aimee and overwhelm Doc. He doesn’t allow, though, for a desperate loser who’s fallen in love—a significant miscalculation.
Francis Guinan, finally, is just about perfect as Tommy, his command of the role exemplified by a late, long moment when Tommy just sits there, considering the possibility of yet another abject defeat, and the whole room—the whole world—is with him. The Night Alive isn’t great McPherson, but it’s superbly good.
Through 11/16: Tue-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat-Sun 3 and 7:30 PM Steppenwolf Theatre Company 1650 N. Halsted 312-335-1650steppenwolf.org $20-$82
