“[A]s if life isn’t hard enough without us being deliberately hurtful and cruel to each other.” —Fred, in Downstate
The subject that dare not speak its name in Downstate is pedophilia, especially as it’s regarded by our culture and punished by our laws. Four men—Fred, Dee, Gio, and Felix—are convicted sex offenders, having served out sentences for everything from father-daughter incest to carrying on a long-term gay relationship with a teenager. Now they’re nominally free. But inasmuch as they have no one else to take them in—and their category of criminal is, as somebody says, “fucked for life” anyway, what with public registries and ankle monitors and hostile neighbors and laws limiting their range of movement—the men share a group home maintained by a Christian charity.
Through 11/11: Wed-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat-Sun 3 and 7:30 PM, Tue 7:30; also Wed 10/17, 10/24, and 10/31, 2 PM, Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650, steppenwolf.org, $54-$99.
