Playwright: Sarah Sander. At: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark. Tickets: 773-338-2177; RavenTheatre.org; $46. Runs through: April 29
I don't understand this play's title. No one is named Sycamore, or lives on Sycamore Lane, or talks of sycamore trees. What the play does have is a helluva lot of angst. Only one character appears angst-free, and that may be because she's newly divorced and liberally self-medicates.
Of particular note is teenage angst, perhaps the juiciest kind ( equaled only by misunderstood artist angst ). Celia ( Selina Fillinger ) is 18 and artsy; her brother, Henry ( Julian Larach ), is 16 and a gay overachiever ( jock and student council prez ). Their new next-door neighbor, John ( Johnathan Nieves ), 18, iswell, I'm not certain about his issue is. Maybe it's his splitsville 'rents. Things get tricky when Henry crushes on John but John crushes on Celia, who crushes on John, too, but is standoffish to counter her easy-girl school reputation. John spends a lot of time hanging with Henry, who says John hasn't figured out his sexuality yet. Still, John firmly resists Henry's overt come-on, triggering Henry's meltdown and suicidal cries. It's not the first time: Henry tried to kill himself a year earlier when he caught Celia fucking his boyfriend. Now, he's on meds.
Celia and Henry's 'rents don't help much. Mom ( Robyn Coffin ) tries to stay cool but panics easily. Dad ( Tom Hickey ) is a part-time college professor who makes ends meet as a diner line cooka sideline beginning to dominate his life. John's wine-drinking mom ( Jaslene Gonzalez ) is a sculptor, and seems to be the only one in the play having a good time. Under director Devon de Mayo, the kids walk off with the show. Nieves already is a familiar face but Fillinger and Larach are new to me, and they hit the nail on the head.
Sycamore is a small play, not just in the intimacy of its cast and setting but also in its ideas. We've seen many similar situations, although the competing teens may not be siblings. The parents are woefully underdeveloped and don't contribute to the plot significantly. The teens are exceedingly fragile ( which is truthful enough ) but they also are very self-awareespecially Henry ( who's cute and knows it ). Henry's family accepts him and so does his school community, so things already are pretty good for him.
Right now, this 75-minute world premiere is unfinished. It needs more development and a definitive ending. Sycamore comes to a stop rather than completing the story or character arcs. At one point, Celia comments about how she and Henry have to take care of their parentsa reversal of usual roles. I was there myself at 17 dealing with my divorcing parents' emotional needs. The role-reversal circumstance could be something for playwright Sander to explore.