Review: Miles Away (The Side Project Theatre)

  
  
Miles Away 

Written by Christine Whitley  
Directed by Scott Weinstein 
at Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis (map)
thru Aug 31  |  tickets: $10-$20   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets  
  
  
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Sophomore effort by playwright feels sophomoric

The Side Project Theatre presents

Miles Away

Review by Clint May 

Getting trapped for ninety minutes in a motel room with two interminably antagonistic pool sharks is a bit much. Not that there isn’t suspense here, it’s just that there’s a point of diminishing returns in character development at which point the audience is well aware of what needs to be established and can move on.

We are quickly shown that the central relationship at the core of Miles Away is equally fatigued by the other’s presence. After two years on the road running hustles over the Midwest, Ron (Josh Odor) and Sissy (Isabel Ellison) are on sexual hiatus and scrambling to find people who haven’t heard of them to swindle. Patience is running thin as they prepare to meet with a potential high rolling backer (Dan Wilson), who wants to sponsor the unchokeable Sissy in high-stakes tournaments. It’s their last chance to make or break the endless cycle of scraping by town to town. The question that hangs over all initially is, “Can these two hyper-dysfunctional people get it together enough to pull this off?” We are given more than ample demonstrations that either Sissy’s heroin addiction and petulance or Ron’s rampant alcoholism (how much vodka can a large man even drink?) and hostility will sabotage their barely laid plans. Eventually, the question shifts to “Can Sissy end the thrall of this much older man and break the cycle that’s trapped her in the amber of his life?” Obviously I won’t be answering either of those here. Themes of sexual violence and emotional manipulation create an uncomfortable undercurrent throughout.

On opening night, it seemed to take a while for the production to fall into the appropriate rhythms. Still, Director Scott Weinstein has coaxed a believable love/hate relationship from Odor and Ellison with a frequently repulsive chemistry. Ellison has the difficult job of moving from peevish ingénue to slinky kitten (why this happens is not made clear, it might be the heroin), but she remains a compelling Lolita-esque figure at the center of a male-dominated world. When Wilson finally arrives, it’s not entirely clear that his presence adds much to the story. Watching Sissy and Ron pathetically try to entice him in their finest garb contrasted with a fleabag motel (while never giving up their acrimony) is interesting, but the twist you know is coming doesn’t pay off as much as one might hope.

Despite some naturalistic dialogue, Playwright Christine Whitley delves into the well of heavy symbolism a bit too frequently. Sissy’s desire (and Ron’s resistance) to change her name to “Grace,” allusions to birds and a deer—it all ends with a sequence of magical realism straight out of left field (again, this might be a heroin-induced hallucination). It comes off juvenile and disjointed despite the evocative staging, and doesn’t complete the Aristotelian arc of tragedy. Sissy’s fitful journey to womanhood would be better served by a production that trusts the truth of the gritty world it laboriously builds. Miles Away keeps the viewer hanging on through the sheer force of the duo at its center and our own empathy with Sissy’s pathetic plight. Given that she is 15 when Ron absconded with her and left her mother/his girlfriend behind, our own conscience is put on trial as we wonder how much responsibility she has for her current situation. That we care at all is more a testament to Ellison than Whitley.

Rating: ★★

Miles Away continues through August 31st at Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis (map), with performances Sundays-Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm.  Tickets are $20 ($10 Rogers Park Rush, $15 seniors/students), and are available online through BrownPaperTickets.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at TheSideProject.net.  (Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission)

Photos by Scott Dray

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artists

cast

Josh Odor (Ron), Isabel Ellison (Sissy), Dan Wilson (Giles)

behind the scenes

Scott Weinstein (director), Krystal Martinez (board operator), Holly McCauley (props design), Brian Ruby (resident production coordination), Alex Romberg (sound designer), Allison Smith (costume design), Michael C. Smith (lighting design), Adam Webster (artistic director, set design), Scott Dray (photos)

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