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LOCATION NOTE:
All My Sons is performed
at
the Greenhouse Theater Center, Downstairs Mainstage,
2257 N. Lincoln,
just 8 blocks south of TimeLine
by Venus Zarris
published September 3, 2009
Once in a while a production comes along that so powerfully accesses the emotional depth of a script, it borders on emotional abuse of the audience. Timeline Theatre’s All My Sons does not rely on heavy-handed melodrama, emotionally manipulative sermonizing or an all-out dramatic slugfest, but rather taps into the staggering profundity of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece by setting up the humanity of his characters before deconstructing them to the verge of annihilation. In fact, if the characters were not so sweetly and initially human their descent into foundationally crippling conflict would be little more than revelations of deceit.
But All My Sons, moreover this resplendent production of All My Sons, is not merely a litany of self-delusion and life altering lies, it is a deceptive dissection of the human condition. It is a scathing political indictment of the military industrial complex on a ma and pa level. (so much so that it could be considered a foreshadow to Eisenhower’s exit speech) It is a treatise on the poignant reality that no matter how loving your motives are, someone is bound to be laid waste by your actions. If the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions, then throw the gates open wide as we’re all headed for the flames.
But please don’t let me scare you. This is not only the most remarkable production that I have seen to date by the already accomplished TimeLine Theatre, it is also one of the most astoundingly acted productions that I have seen on a Chicago stage in years. This is a show that should not be missed by anyone who cares for theater and should be mandatory viewing for anyone interested in the creation of it. I charge any fledgling theater company, hopeful playwright or aspiring actor in Chicago to see this production by any means necessary, as this represents the gold standard for the craft.
Thanks to Miller’s provocative script, Director Kimberly Senior’s delicate set up and then bulldozing climax and this profoundly gifted ensemble’s subtly spellbinding delivery, Timeline’s All My Sons represents one of the most complete emotional journeys that you can take in a theater. You are so lulled into the drama that the build can almost be described as passive-aggressive. By the time the volatile conflict hits you, you are powerless to defend yourself against the waves of revelatory emotional ruin.
One the surface Miller explosively captures that universal gut punch, that is that your parents aren’t the hero/saints that you inherently set them up to be during childhood, but what lies beneath is a much more brutal epiphany, that is that we all have blood on our hands. I can imagine that when this won the Tony Award for best play, in 1947, this exposé either inspired staggering clarity or was met with indignant denial. In 2009, the most eviscerating aspect of this revelation is that nothing has changed, despite the fact that most people now take it for granted that fortunes are routinely made at the expense of human suffering.
Because of Halliburton, heath care, Enron, and the list goes on and on, we have become numb to the notion of corruption. It has become a given, the status quo. We have dozed off to the tune of institutionalized immorality. But All My Sons is a jolting wake-up alarm. Miller’s script shows us that humanity is capable of unthinkable betrayals and destruction. The very creation of this script simultaneously shows us how beautiful we can be.
This is one of art’s most profound gifts to humanity. In its compelling depictions of our depravity, it not only illuminates by creating empathy but it provides at least a glimpse of emancipation out of the quagmire and at best a road to personal and social evolution.
Timeline’s extraordinary production honors this transformative gift by exacting every iota of Miller’s genius. The cast and direction are dead on. Roger Mueller and Erik Hellman are heartbreaking as the loving-to-a-fault father, Joe, and son, Chris. Cora Vander Broek is amazing as Kate, fiancée to Chris. She gracefully and naturally moves through the complete emotional range of her character with incredible intelligence, displaying a dramatic sophistication that is rare and wonderful. Janet Ulrich Brooks creates a Kate, mother to Chris, that is attractively genial and sincerely warm while simultaneously simmering with a frightening level of denial. She emphatically demands compliance in this denial and ferociously defends it to anything and anyone who threatens it. Ulrich extracts more than one gasp inducing moment with a characterization that is intricate and fierce. Senior’s direction creates a powerfully subtle build that delivers a mercifully devastating climax. We are left bruised by the content rather than beaten by dramatic grandstanding.
Timeline Theatre’s incomparable production of All My Sons impeccably suspends you in the reality of Miller’s masterpiece, creating a theatrical experience that you will never forget. DO NOT MISS this poster play for the best that theater has to offer.
