Quark
Written by Gloria Bond Clunie
Directed by Chuck Smith
at Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln (map)
thru March 2 | tickets: $15-$25 | more info
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A thoughtful, if undramatic drama
MPAACT i/a/w Goodman Theatre presents
Quark
Review by John Olson
They promised us a story of personal tragedy, commercial space travel and feeding our starving planet – and darned if they didn’t deliver on it! This world premiere pulls all those threads together cohesively, but at this stage it’s effective more as philosophy than drama. Here’s the idea – a college physics professor (Kelly Owens) and her kindergarten teacher husband (Quinton Guyton), living sometime in the near future when commercial space travel is just becoming available, ponder the possibility of mortgaging all to finance the $250,000 per person cost of a short trip into space. Though she’s a scientist and he’s a more touchy-feely type, they share an interest in star gazing and a concern for “the planet” that makes the idea of viewing Earth from a distance seem the ultimate trip. Professor Alexandra Seybold (Owens) is a scientist intensely concerned about humanity (she even requires her students to conduct a fundraiser to support feeding the hungry in Africa). Husband Terry is more into the humanities (he reads Joyce for fun), but he feigns an interest in science as well. After the couple decides to start saving big-time to come up with the half-million dollars it’ll take to shoot the two of them into space, we see Alexandra deal with Brian (Shannon Matesky), a pleasant but grade-hungry elementary education major needing to finish up her science credits, all while the couple deals with the shock of a recurrence of Alexandra’s cancer. The couple are haunted by the possibility of an early death for Alexandra – and the professor is additionally tormented by recurring dreams of the famine she witnessed in Africa,
There are some minor conflicts in the play between the science-centric Alexandra and the humanities-oriented Terry and Brian, and of course the undeniable tragedy of Alexandra’s disease. The characters are all good, reasonable people with their conflict based on perfectly understandable differences of needs and opinions. However there’s not a great deal of tension or plot – nor character development, really – as the married couple and the student all seem a bit too perfect. The performances of Chuck Smith’s cast are honest and touching, if not sufficiently nuanced or organic, so rather than getting wrapped up in the story or characters, we’re left to ponder playwright Clunie’s thesis that perhaps the answers to the secrets of life can only be found through the joint pursuit of science and humanities. It’s a fascinating thought, and one I’m inclined to buy. I certainly admire the playwright for having not only the guts to take on a topic like “what is the meaning of life” and have something to say about it. The “quark” of the title refers to subatomic particles – the smallest form of matter, and it’s said that quarks can only exists in twos (maybe like humans). Quark is a heartfelt, sincere play, with something important and comforting to say, but while it earns an A in Philosophy, it gets just a C+ in Drama.
Rating: ★★½
Quark continues through March 2nd at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets are $15-$25, and are available by phone (773-404-7336) or online through Tix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at MPAACT.org. (Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes, no intermission)
photos by Shepsu Aakhu
artists
cast
Quinton Guyton (Terry Seybold), Darren Jones (Dr. Chris Keller), Shannon Matesky (Brian Tyson), Kelly Owens (Dr. Alexandra Seabold)
behind the scenes
Chuck Smith (director), Shannon Matesky (assistant director), Daryl Charisse (production stage manager), Jessica Kuehnau Wardell (scenic design), Casey Diers (lighting design), Evelyn Danner (costume design), Desta Sound (sound design), Shepsu Aakhu (technical director, production photographer, graphic design), LaNisa Frederick (casting director), Jewel Smith (assistant stage manager)
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