Playwright: Joel Drake Johnson
At: Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Phone: (312) 335-1650; $20-$35
Runs through: May 2
Rush, rush, rush to see Rondi Reed in The Fall to Earth! You won't see a finer performance this year, perhaps not this decade. Plucking every emotive string from sly comedy to terrifying violence, Reed summons the focus of a surgeon, the stamina of a bull and the passion of a diva in an exhausting and cathartic acting display. She is more than capably assisted by Cheryl Graeff, somber, subtle and tightly strung in a far less flashy role demanding the same focus and discipline. Sarah Charipar is no slouch in a highly sympathetic role supporting both the others.
Reed and Graeff play mother and daughter, Fay and Rachel. The tension between them is apparent from the moment they enter the graciously appointed motel room that is the chief location. However, author Joel Drake Johnson doesn't reveal all his cards at once. For long minutes Reed appears to be a matronly motor mouth and the play a brittle family comedy. But then Johnson starts dropping other shoes, and keeps on dropping them throughout the play. Fay and Rachel are estranged. They've come to a Downstate Illinois town to claim the body of Kenny, their son/brother. We soon learn that alcoholic Kenny committed suicide after making a pass at a local man, who beat him up. Like peeling the layers of an onion, the back story slowly is filled in and Fay's monstrous true nature is revealed. A caring policewoman (Charipar) befriends both Fay and Rachel, and serves as a foil and contrast to them.
This is a richly written play, with its complexities and deceptive depths cleverly hidden by anecdotal small talk. Many authors use this approach and get lost in it. Their plays become stop-and-go affairs, but not Johnson's. No matter how small the chat, he constantly sustains the arcs of his characters and the lines of their actions. This play is only three characters and three scenes in 95 minutes, but there is nothing small or safe about it.
Indeed, The Fall to Earth is a dangerous play with terrible things to say about family fabric and the ego of parenting. It asks its three performers to take huge risks and get naked emotionally. The fact that Reed, Graeff and Charipar do so willingly, resourcefully and successfully is a testament not only to the power of Johnson's text, but to the trust the performers and author have placed in director Rick Snyder. Once again, this actor-turned-director proves his mettle, embracing this play's pain and deep sorrow, and confidently unlocking the power of his cast with wisdom, sympathy, pace and modulation.
With Reed fiddling with her pearls in a splendid showcase role, The Fall to Earth will stun you in every way.