Playwright: Amy Herzog. At: Next Theatre, 927 Noyes, Evanston. Tickets: 847-475-1875; www.nexttheatre.org; $25-$40. Runs through: May 13
Amy Herzog's stimulating, intelligent and semi-autobiographical play uses a political story to frame a deeper personal story, providing rich opportunities for a spot-on cast directed by the reliable Kimberly Senior.
Set in 1999, the play presents three generations of the Joseph family of New York and Boston, who are ardent leftists going back to the 1930s Great Depression, when "anyone with a beating heart and half a brain" was a Communist, according to steely grandmother Vera (Mary Ann Thebus).
Her late husband, Joe Joseph, is the idolized family patriarch who rose to high government position during World War II, when the Soviet Union was our ally, but later was hauled before a Congressional committee during the 1950s anti-Red "witch hunt." Now granddaughter Emma (Christine Stulik) leads a foundation for social justice named after Gramps. When a new book reveals that Joe spied for the Soviets and perjured himself before Congress to protect himself, Emma feels betrayed by the truth and by family members who withheld this truth from her. She becomes estranged from her father, grandmother and boyfriend as she rethinks her beliefs and her priorities.
Politics aside, the deeper personal tale is how any of us might react when someone we regard as heroic and faultless is found to have feet of clay or cracks in his armor, to use the cliché expressions for human frailties and moral or ethical shortcomings. Who among us has not had such an experience, or been the cause of such an experience to someone else? The experience is made more complex when it involves family history and relationships.
Herzog does not minimize the emotional complexities. Indeed, in Act I she piles too much on the plate, introducing Emma's recovering-drug-addict sister and apolitical uncle, who pull focus but ultimately contribute little. Herzog brings the focus back to Emma in Act II but wisely does not attempt to resolve all issues. The estrangement between Emma and her familyin particular, her father, Ben (Mick Weber)isn't completely healed, nor is Emma's relationship with her boyfriend. Emma herself is far from perfect. Politics, love, life and family history must be open-ended propositions subject to periodic (if not constant) re-evaluation.
Senior's company functions as a splendid ensemble, with excellent supporting work from Phil Ridarelli as the amiable uncle, Dana Black as the less-political sister, Tasha Anne James as Ben's wife and beloved Mike Nussbaum in top form as one of Joe's "fellow travelers" (as non-Communist leftists were called). You'll relish the performances in this fine finale to Next Theatre's 31st season, andat a time when conservatism once again has become a dark force in American politicsyou'll still be thinking about the play the next day.