GLASS HOUSES
Jeff Helgeson’s Glass Houses, which concerns a dysfunctional family filled with what he must think are a bunch of zany characters, resembles a bad pilot for a television sitcom. The heroine, Barb, is the most normal–an ex-cheerleader and homecoming queen who is living with her family after her divorce. She and her husband, Ken, apparently separated because he couldn’t deal with either her meddling family or her willingness to do whatever they wanted. The main plot revolves around the parents’ scheme to keep their grandchild and not let him see his father (unbeknownst to Barb). A secondary plot revolves around Barb’s cocaine-dealer brother, who has a stash in his parents’ house.
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Gatz is also hindered by her designers, whose work is some of the most amateurish I’ve seen on a Chicago stage. The costumer’s idea of design appears to be matching the colors of the clothing and the set pieces. The punk’s leather and metal may seem appropriate, but the effect is ruined by the big green rug the actor wears as a wig. The set consists of badly painted flats, including a painted window that the actors constantly look out of. Poorly taped sound effects complete the design.
