Playwright: Sarah Gubbins. At: Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets: 773-871-3000 or www.victorygardens.org; $15-$60. Runs through March 13
What would drive progressive lesbians living in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood to buy a gun? That's the question that drives Sarah Gubbins' comic-drama Cocked, now making its world premiere at Victory Gardens Theater.
Cocked focuses on the interracial couple of an attorney named Taylor ( Kelli Simpkins ) and her crime-reporter girlfriend, Izzie ( Patrese D. McClain ). Based upon their stylish condo ( set designer Chelsea M. Warren provides the envious living quarters ), one could easily assume that Izzie and Taylor have a comfortable relationship.
But there are plenty of safety fears simmering underneath. Both women are deeply intimidated by Ron, their ex-Marine neighbor who openly flaunts his gun ownership and whose yappy dog rarely shuts upa great credit to Thomas Dixon's incessant sound design that helps to make Ron an unseen menace. Izzie is also fatigued from repeatedly reporting on South Side shootings and funerals.
Izzie and Taylor also have relationship problems that boil up with the uninvited appearance of Frank ( Mike Tepeli ), Taylor's ex-con brother from Iowa City. Frank's sociopathic views and destructive bumbling all help to mess up the couple's well-ordered lives.
Great credit goes to Gubbins for not just serving up a serious "issue play," since Cocked keeps audiences laughing with a progression of groan-inducing visual gags and a surprising bit of physical humor. Gubbins' dark comedy helps to mitigate the increasing sense of outrageous shock as things go from bad to worse.
Yet there are times when the issue of guns in Cocked feels forcedparticularly when Frank starts a screed on why Izzie should own a gun and produces one on the spot. Given that Izzie would be tempted to buy a weapon of unknown provenance doesn't feel right for her journalist character, especially when she proposes a newspaper series that touches upon illegally sold guns. You also wonder why she doesn't buy a new gun while buying a gun safe.
Just how Frank uncovers so many personal details to use against Taylor is questionable. So is Frank's ability to do so much damage, even if it does help build to the play's frightening conclusion.
If there are questionable moments in Gubbins' script, at least they don't hold back from the great comic and dramatic performances that director Joanie Schultz draws from her great ensemble.
Simpkins and McClain both react wonderfully off of the irresponsible bad-boy energy of Tepeli. It's really fun to see their anger rise and erupt.
Cocked may not be perfect, but it does a great job of prodding audiences to think about issues of security and safety amid America's polarized gun debates. What's also vital is that Gubbins does so with an abundance of humor so Cocked never feels like a one-sided lecture.