After
Written by Chad Beckim
Directed by Matt Hawkins
at The Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway (map)
thru Oct 14 | tickets: $35-$40 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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Slow-burning drama follows plight of exonerated prisoner after he’s released
Profiles Theatre presents
After
Review by Lawrence Bommer
In just 90 minutes this concentrated drama nails the plight of an exonerated prisoner now facing his fears of freedom—and the ugly fact that 17 years of his life were lost behind bars because a woman falsely accused him of rape.
Rich with telling details none of which get neglected in Matt Hawkins’ textured staging for Profiles Theater, After is just that, an appropriately fragmented look at Monty’s return from nearly two decades of wrongful imprisonment. Monty (a slow-burning, multi-faceted J. Salome Martinez Jr.) may have been freed by a new DNA test, but that exoneration means nothing to his “period of adjustment.” He’s 34 but still feels 17, the age when the cell door slammed on him. He can’t sleep because his sister’s house is just too quiet. He can’t make decisions about which toothpaste to buy or when to cross with the pedestrian “go” light because he’s used to getting orders from guards. Monty sleep-walks, if only to test these greater boundaries that don’t confine him. He resists even talking to his alleged victim who’s burning to apologize.
Slowly and believably, Playwright Chad Beckim shows Monty opening up to the people in this “after”-math. Monty’s new Indian-American friend (Gabriel Ruiz) provides comic relief as he helps Monty to slide back into real life. (You never knew how therapeutic a game of chess can be.) His sister Liz (Alice Da Cunha) passionately counters his protest that “I have nothing.” A great kidder, his priest and counselor (Foster Williams, Jr.) works overtime to cope with Monty’s eventual rage over 17 years of unbreakable unfairness.
Cunningly, Beckim withholds our expectation that Monty will explode in repressed rage—until the very second when it’s most justified. But the play’s last moment shows Monty about to talk to the woman whose testimony killed his youth. We can only imagine what the kind of exoneration she received – one she does not deserve.
Never generic, however much it represents the plights of many more wronged inmates than Monty. Nonetheless, After is a bit too cinematic with its constant set changes. It would have been smarter to linger longer.
Rating: ★★★
After continues through October 14th at The Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway (map), with performances Thursdays-Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays 5pm and 8pm, Sundays 7pm. Tickets are $35-$40, and are available by phone (773-549-1815) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at ProfilesTheatre.org. (Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission)
artists
cast
Alice da Cunha (Liz); Carlos Rogelio Diaz (Eddie); J. Salome Martinez (Monty); Stephenie Park (Susie); Gabe Ruiz (Warren); Foster Williams Jr. (Chap)
behind the scenes
Matt Hawkins (director); Dan Stratton (set); Bekki Lambrecht (lights); Jeffrey Levin (sound and original music); Kelsey Melvin (asst. set design, props); Brittany Bodley (costumes); Krissy Larson (stage manager); Elise Spoerlein (asst. director)
12-0904
