Playwright: Yussef El Guindi
Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St.
Phone: ( 312 ) 236-6881; $20-$25
Runs through: Dec. 30
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
No, Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith is not the latest Cirque du Soleil show. It's not even a faith-based Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus act.
Ten Acrobats ... is Yussef el Guindi's world premiere family comedy/drama featuring Muslim-Americans facing crises about faith, culture and sexuality. The title's leap of faith is no doubt meant to suggest the many hoops Arab families have to leap through when synthesizing their Muslim traditions with a different culture.
Produced in a well-acted production by Silk Road Theatre Project, Ten Acrobats ... certainly offers plenty of food for thought when it comes to Guindi's depiction of a well-off Egyptian couple and their three college-age children. One son ( Tawfiq ) adamantly says he's now an atheist, while another ( Hamza ) clings to Muslim traditions ( perhaps as a deflecting tactic ) . Then there's daughter Huwaida who has odd dreams just as she begins to have serious doubts about her forthcoming arranged marriage.
With so much in it, Ten Acrobats ... has a somewhat diluted focus as we ricochet off each sibling's troubles over the course of an alternately enlightening and preachy three hours. Ten Acrobats ... also lessens its impact by an ending that feels too pat and abruptly resolved. Despite these minor flaws, Ten Acrobats ... is largely entertaining throughout and achieves its goal of giving us an insightful peek into the life of a Muslim-American family.
I would have loved it much more if Guindi had centered the whole play around future bride Huwaida and her strange dreams. Of the play's multi-ethnic cast, Monica Lopez particularly stands out as Huwaida. Guindi's other characters aren't sketched out as thoroughly, though the fine and energetic cast ( particularly Kareem Bandealy as Tawfiq and Vincent P. Mahler's domineering father Kamal ) help to enliven the material. Director Stuart Carden keeps most things at a brisk pace amid Matthew Morton's spare set.
At its world premiere landing, Ten Acrobats ... doesn't score a perfect '10,' but it certainly does make a strong showing. It definitely lives up to Silk Road Theatre Project's aim of highlighting playwrights and works related to the historic Silk Road that stretched from Asia through the Mediterranean. And at a time when many Americans view Arabs with hatred and mistrust, this company's artistic work is vital.