Playwright: Rebecca Gilman. At: Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway St. Phone: ( 773 ) 549-1815; $18-$22. Through Nov. 27
There's kidnapping, statutory rape, murder and even bit of prostitution in Rebecca Gilman's drama The Glory of Living. Despite this horrifying parade of unsavory activities, The Glory of Living remains an exhilarating and disturbingly timeless piece of must-see theater.
First produced at Circle Theatre in 1996, The Glory of Living went on to win numerous awards in Chicago, London and New York ( where it starred Academy Award-winner Anna Paquin in a 2001 Philip Seymour Hoffman-directed production ) . The Glory of Living firmly put Gilman on the map as Chicago's best-known playwright since David Mamet, serving as a glorious prelude to her other works like Spinning into Butter, Boy Gets Girl and Dollhouse.
For The Glory of Living's upcoming 10th anniversary, the ever-edgy Profiles Theatre has unleashed a ferocious production that showcases Gilman's dark and seductive text. If there is any justice, Profiles' Glory of Living will develop the legs to stick around like its other long-running hits of Popcorn and Blackbird.
Director Carla Russell was wise to assemble a super-attractive and talented cast to help lure audiences into the play's underbelly world of run-down Southern motels and chilly prison rooms ( each simply and cunningly rendered by set designer Keith Pitts ) .
With Darrell W. Cox's chiseled physique and charming good ol' boy looks as the ex-con Clint, it's easy to see why Kelly O'Sullivan's believably vulnerable Lisa falls under his dangerous thrall. As a fatherless 15-year-old daughter of a prostitute, Lisa savors Clint's affection and attention, no matter how abusive and manipulative.
Cox's and O'Sullivan's entrancing performances make us keenly aware of Clint and Lisa's alluring co-dependent bond, even as we are progressively exposed to their morally sickening acts of degradation and murder.
Surrounding Cox's and O'Sullivan's towering performances is a strong and adept cast. Sean Nix gets to show off the widest range of character stretching between the horny trucker Jim and the full-of-indignation Detective Burrows. Eric Burgher doubles well as a simpleton victim and as the atmospheric guitarist linking the play's transitions.
Joe Jahraus particularly stands out as the defense lawyer Carl, trying his utmost to comprehend why Lisa did Clint's bidding and finding out in the play's final heart-breaking scene.
Gilman's Glory of Living does an expert job of allowing us to empathize with Lisa, despite her despicable actions. Gilman also reminds us that Lisa is just one of many women in America who are allowed to become disposable thanks to our negligence to confront debilitating poverty and abuse.
Even with the play's painful wallowing in so many sorrows, Gilman still offers a glimmer of redemptive hope, which truly is a glory of living.
