Softly Blue

By Shepsu Aakhu

Directed by Mignon McPhrson Nance

Produced by MPAACT Theatre

At Victory Gardens Theater

2257 N. Lincoln Avenue

Chicago, IL

Call 312-409-6724, tickets $22

Thursdays at 8:30 PM

Saturdays at 8 PM

Sundays at 3:30 PM

Running time is 2 hours with intermission

Through March 12, 2006

Softly Blue unfolds as dense treatment of human isolation

MPAACT Theatre develops Afrikan Centered Theatre works that are unique, artistically challenging and dramatically compelling. Their latest, Softly Blue, is a strange piece that deals with two 30something African-Americans who meet through an online dating service. Sloan (Leonard House, Jr.) is a diabetic, movie fan enthralled by astronomy and Dakota (Angela Walsh) is the pill-popping anorectic child prodigy and patent attorney. The two meet face-to-face in an awkward blind date the ends up having both enter into a strange relationship marked mostly by phone calls and Internet communications.

These two characters indulge in a self-imposed isolation that doesn’t allow either to leave their apartments. Their struggle for intimacy and their fear (and need for) being touched becomes compulsive and obsessive. This over-written, yet at times, intriguing play has its moments. This highly psychological study offers some insights into the world of addiction and phobias that overwhelms these isolated individuals. The play asks the question: “What if you could see through people?” What stories could be told when all facades crumble?

This dense, complicated play uses live voices doing what they term “soundscape” to add improv elements as underscoring to the play effectively to enhance the mood and give depth to the atmosphere.

I’m not sure what all the monologues meant (there were many throughout) and the ending seemed incomplete, yet Angela Walsh’s hauntingly intricate take on Dakota created one of those memorable characters that stay with you long after the show. Walsh keeps Dakota’s identify hidden nicely.

In a strange way, Softly Blue draws us into a world of the lonely where the simplest human connection is a monumental struggle. Fear of being exposed where others know the real you can be crippling. This show bravely tries to pick into that reality. Softly Blue takes some patience and concentration yet it delivers a warning about how technology can foster isolation.

Once cuts and edits are made and the pacing quickens, Softly Blue will carry a larger payoff. It has an  imaginative script that almost works.

Somewhat Recommended

Tom Williams

Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments

Talk Theatre in Chicago Radio Show

February 5, 2006