CHICAGO YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
It’s tricky to generalize about drama, whether by young Americans or ancient Greeks; at their best, these plays are too real to be merely representative. This year’s batch of four plays is tighter in construction, less preoccupied with love than with the challenge of finding decent work. The mothers portrayed are more potent than the (mainly invisible) fathers. Curiously, the plays don’t indict society for causing the crises depicted but do focus on the effects of cultural inequities–especially sexual stereotypes and class snobbery.
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When the sister overdoses, the brother promises her he’ll stop dealing–but his eyes never meet hers. And he still carries a $4,000 debt to his supplier. You guess the rest.
Rich with scathing observations about ugly adults, Off Highway 21, by Christi Rankin of Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, is the warmest, best- written discovery of all. A nicely detailed slice of life, Off Highway 21 takes an affectionate look at Darlene, a truck-stop waitress.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Suzanne Plunkett.
