Playwright: Roger Rueff
At: Chicago Dramatists,
1105 W. Chicago Ave.
Phone: 312-633-0630; $22-$28
Runs through: Oct. 29
BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE
If Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde presented us with a hero of, literally, two minds, author Roger Rueff goes one better with a heroine of three: Would-be artist Ivy Fisher is inhabited by a foul-mouthed rebel named Olivia and a withdrawn infant named Naomi. This condition perturbs her roommate and protector, museum conservator Fiona Davis, who just can't seem to quit her volatile companion, despite recent evidence of a sinister fourth, as yet unidentified, intruder.
The psychological aberration known as multiple-personality disorder, though rare, is a motif sufficiently popular to have spawned its own literary genre, making our play's dynamic-in-progress easy to discern by audience members listening closely. What is not as apparent, and serves to keep us riveted to the action, is which of these weird sisters will be left standing after 'reality' intervenes to decide their fates. Ambassadors from the outside world include Jack, Fiona's co-worker and hopeful suitor; Paris, Ivy's rock-musician boyfriend; and Dr. Shapiro, shrink and benevolent surrogate father to the bizarre sorority.
Jenny McKnight, playing Ivy/Olivia/Naomi, navigates the role's lightning transitions with tightly-focused agility, as does Judy Blue in the more subdued but equally subtextured role of Fiona. Tim Curtis, Walter Thon and Ron Quade contribute cliché-free supporting performances as, respectively, the patient Jack, seductive Paris and phlegmatic Dr. Shapiro. A technical team led by scenic designer Brian Sidney Bembridge replicates the boho-industrial milieu with Keinholzian detail, while Russ Tutterow's direction cleverly steers us away from the clues that would reveal the punch line too soon.
And therein lies the risk undertaken by this playwright with a reputation for quasi-Mamet studies in what slight-of-hand artists call 'misdirection.' Lazy theatergoers looking for cheap thrills may be annoyed at Rueff's eleventh-hour surprise twist, even though its impact compounds our sympathy for the characters in whom we have come to invest considerable emotion. Those willing to wait two-plus hours before learning whodunwhat, however, will certainly appreciate the industry and expertise—not to mention audacity—involved in pulling the rug out from under us as deftly as Rueff does.