Playwright: Howard Korder. At: Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn. Phone: 773-458-0722; $18. Runs through: Aug. 1
For a story whose hero is a man enamored of maps, Howard Korder's play offers its audience precious few guideposts. On one level, this sprawling saga can be read as a diatribe on all-American greed and cruelty ( Native Americans and palefaces alike ) . On another, its picaresque tale of an Irish emigré's progress during the first half of the 19th century can be said to mirror the immigrant experience. Then again, there is every individual's eternal quest to find their own "place" in the universe—a search like as not conducted one step ahead of the law. And let's not forget the propensity of males to leave their homes and women to meekly accept this impulse. Of community leaders—whatever their ideologies—to settle into sanctimonious egotism. And of good intentions to collapse beneath civilization's inevitable entropy.
Korder has never been known for his optimism, but his deconstruction of the entire Westward Expansion—an era spanning nearly a quarter of our nation's history—might have made a suitably gripping airport novel à la Larry McMurtry or Winston Graham. The three hours required for its execution in the tiny Steep Theatre storefront, however, allows us insufficient contemplative time to keep track of the disparate analogical narrative threads, especially those conveyed in deliberately buzzword-laced, but ultimately enigmatic, manifestos. Further fragmenting our attention is the frequent reorientation demanded by the swift changes of locale and multiple casting.
But as the Mexican Capitan Tresguerras ( "three wars" ) might say, "Caballo grande, ande o no ande." However awkwardly this big horse might run, there can be no denying the scope of its ambitions nor the Steep ensemble's industry in meeting its challenges. Under Jonathan Berry's direction, each actor seizes the moment with valiant concentration manifested in impeccable phrasing, enunciation and text interpretation. Special mention is due Yosh Hayashi's bravura turn as the intrepid—and certifiably crazy—adventurer Samuel Markham Hayes, who dazzles us with oratory that peals with a conviction almost eclipsing our befuddlement over when, where and whom we are confronting.
All that said, Korder's attempt—which clocked in much longer at its premiere, if you can believe it—to duplicate the panoramic sweep of, say, Robert Schenkkan's Kentucky Cycle sets out to do too much and winds up doing too little of it well. Steep Theatre recently earned itself a Jeff award for assertion of style over substance, but it remains to be seen whether this undeniably talented company can pull it off a second time.