Review: Partners (LiveWire Chicago)

By Chicagotheaterbeat @chitheaterbeat

  
  
Partners

Written by Dorothy Fortenberry
Directed by Kendra Miller
at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee (map)
thru July 20  |  tickets: $20-$25   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
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Overreaching playwright still has prescient things to say

     

  

LiveWire Chicago presents

  

Partners

Review by John Olson

To look at the title alone, you’d have to guess Partners is either a cop story of the Mel Gibson/Danny Glover sort or something about marriage and/or relationships. It’s the latter, and as the title suggests, author Dorothy Fortenberry seems to be looking to offer some general observations about marriage and commitment: mainly that they’re hard and require honesty from both partners. She also makes the point that this is equally true of gay as well as straight marriages. Good topics, but Ms. Fortenberry, whose work has been seen in some prestigious regional theaters, has overreached in this play, cramming in too many ideas and failing to fully develop the intriguing character at the center of her play.

Her story concerns two sets of twenty-something couples – one straight, one gay – living in present day Brooklyn. Paul is an IT person working for a law firm and making a decent but modest salary, while wife Clare supplements the family income as a food stylist. She has plans to open a food truck with her gay friend Ezra, who’s been with his boyfriend Brady for the past two years. The thing is, she has a habit of showing up late, unprepared or not at all when Ezra sets up appointments with potential investors for their food truck, and their enterprise seems forever delayed in getting off the ground. We also learn she has a habit of picking nervously at her face, which suffers from chronic acne, so it’s evident the woman has some self-esteem issues. Fortenberry has given us the start of a fascinating character here. Why does she set herself up for failure by failing to follow through with her plans, or do self-destructive things that threaten her marriage? Early in the first act, Clare unexpectedly gets a cash windfall large enough to be a life changer for her and Paul – even enough to launch the business with Ezra – but her actions upon receiving the cash are not what either of these two men in her life would want. What the actions are, and Clare’s motivations for them, aren’t entirely credible, but regardless, we have the basis for a flawed and fascinating character study here that isn’t fully explored. Instead, Fortenberry invents an entirely implausible confrontation between the couples that ends Act One, and then does a detour into the issue of monogamy in gay marriages (a potential deal-killer for the potential joining of Ezra and Blake). Their differing views on monogamy lead to a big loud argument between the two gay men that seems insufficiently set up and included only to provide some sort of thematic balance to an exploration of gay vs. straight marriages. The play all feels a bit lost, until Fortenberry returns to a focus on Clare and Paul towards the end, and her themes finally all converge, developed here predictably, with language like “I can’t change who I am. It’s a part of me.”

Lauren Pizzi’s Clare is clearly troubled, and Pizzi gains our empathy for her even despite the fact that her character is not particularly likable. Brian Crawford plays Paul as a believably uncomplicated, decent guy. We see the story mostly through his eyes, often learning things when he does, and Crawford’s empathetic performance keeps us engaged. Will Von Vogt plays Ezra as an outgoing, fairly effeminate gay. He starts out leaning heavily on stereotypes but gets more convincing as his character becomes more desperate, and we ultimately see some truth in the character. Blake Russell does what he can with his very underwritten role, which it seems Fortenberry never envisioned beyond that of the handsome, masculine boyfriend.

It takes a while for the cast to warm up. The play’s opening scene is a rather routine dinner party for the two couples in Clare and Paul’s Brooklyn apartment (believably designed in Michael Mroch’s set). It seems nothing is harder for actors than to believably create mundane, everyday conversation, and this one struggles, but eventually perks up as the stakes get higher and they are able to emote more. Director Kendra Miller and cast have given Fortenberry’s script a lively reading, and the play has realistically captured the economic angst of the urban Millenials – a topic most deserving of exploration, and one hopes to see to explored in more depth by Fortenberry and other playwrights soon.

  

Rating: ★★½

  

  

Partners continues through July 20th at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 3pm.  Tickets are $20-$25, and are available by phone (312-533-4666) or through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at LiveWireChicago.com.  (Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes, no intermission)

Photos by Emily Schwartz

     

artists

cast

Brian Crawford (Paul), Lauren Pizzi (Clare), Blake Russell (Brady), Will Von Vogt (Ezra).

behind the scenes

Kendra Miller (director), Michael Mroch (scenic design), Noël Huntzinger (costume design), Claire Sangster (lighting design), Andrew Rovner (sound design), Dina Klahn (properties design, stage manager), Taylor Gabby (assistant stage manager), Caitlin O’Rourke (production manager), Emily Schwartz (photos)

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