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Relatively Close
By James Sherman
Directed by Dennis Zacek
At Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
Call 773-871-3000, tickets $20 - $45
Tuesdays thru Thursdays at 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 5 & 8:30 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission
Through July 13, 2008
Smart, funny and fresh family comedy from James Sherman is one of his best.
James Sherman has had twelve plays premiere at Victory Gardens Theater, all directed by Dannis Zacek. The result have been several terrific plays—“Beau Jest,” “Affluenza” and “Half and Half” among them. Now add “Relatively Close” to that list. This play is expertly crafted with nicely developed characters thrown into believable situations that had many opening night audiences members saying “That family reminded me of my own—my sisters!” Kudos to Sherman for once again tackling a dysfunctional family comedy without peopling it with stereotypical characters in predictabl e situations. His take is fresh, witty and smart.
Sherman has mounted a story about three sisters who arrive at their now deceased parents summer home in Union Pier, Michigan in an attempt to figure out what to do with the place. Jan (Penny Sluaher) is the oldest, a realtor and want-to-be Chicago alderman who wants to sell the home. Beth (Laura T. Fisher) is the middle daughter who is on her fifth marriage and desires to make the place into an arts colony while Marlene (Wendi Weber), the youngest wants the place to stay in the family—she just wants everyone to get along. Not an easy task. Jan is married to Yousef (Usman Ally), a wealthy Persian who brags about his Cadillac Escalade. Beth’s fifth husband is Arthur(Dexter Zollicoffer), an African-American college administration. Beth’s anti-social teen son, Dylan (David Gonzalez) was dragged along reluctantly. Marlene suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder that makes her extremely shy—she uses a ventriloquist doll to communicate with strangers. Her husband, Ron (Daniel Cantor), is a lawyer, womanizer and Mary Poppins aficionado. Can this group make it through the week together?
With these ingredients, Sherman cleverly weaves the family’s story clearly developing each sister’s story with nice sprinkles of humor and biting one-liners. Sherman plants enough hints to make the plot twists in act two plausible. Often the devil is in the details and here Sherman wastes no words. These quirky folks remind audiences of their families as the sibling rivalries and birth order of the sisters hint at their personalities. Sherman lightly uses ethnic and racial, social class, generational and gender slurs to garner both humor and underlying beliefs. Ron objects to Arthur ordering pork fried rice in a Jewish household. Sherman weaves the play with gentle humor that still is both funny and telling.
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We get to know all the characters and their foibles—Marlene’s ventriloquist doll (excellent work by Wendi Weber) is a hoot. Usman Ally’s mispronunciations and Penny Slusher’s phony charm add to the tension. What will happen to this summer house and these sisters? See this funny, excellent written, and beautifully stage (fabulous multi-room, two level set by John C. Stark) family comedy to find out. You’ll be delighted and pleased—and you’ll laugh often along the way. Wendi Weber and David Gonzalez offer truthful performances. James Sherman lives up to his “ Neil Simon of Lincoln Avenue” reputation with “Relatively Close.”
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2008
Jeff Recommended
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