Playwright: Marcus Gardley. At: Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets: 773-871-3000 or www.victorygardens.org; $20-$60. Runs through: March 30
Don't accuse the Chicago theater community of turning a blind eye to the city's endemic youth violence. Steppenwolf Theatre and Collaboraction both produced thoughtful artistic responses based upon real events last year, and now Victory Gardens Theater enters the fray with the world premiere of Marcus Gardley's The Gospel of Lovingkindness.
The Gospel of Lovingkindness may be fictionalized, but Gardley draws upon recent and past headline-grabbing Chicago incidents to make his drama feel true-to-life.
Gardley serves up time-shifting vignettes that not only look at the surviving family members of a crime victim ( killed for his expensive pair of Air Jordan shoes ), but also of the desperation that drove the perpetrator to that senseless act of violence. At times, Gardley's characters speak with so much passion and swagger that they feel like they just stepped off the street. Other times, their dialogue sounds just like editorial page posturing or like elevated poetry.
This odd dichotomy ultimately works with the play's non-linear structure, though there is still a slight remove from some of the emotion in director Chay Yew's chilly production ( something designer Kevin Depinet's all-gray set of suspended furniture emphasizes ). One gets the sense that The Gospel of Lovingkindness is meant to serve as a rallying cry for communities to work together to diffuse the violence, but Gardley's writing tone is more cool and calculated rather than hot-blooded and outraged.
That doesn't mean that the play lacks juicy characterizations or moments that could prod a few tears. And certainly helping to flesh out the heart-tugging emotion is the extremely talented and engaging cast of four actors.
There isn't a wrong note in Cheryl Lynn Bruce's performance of the mourning mother Mary Black, a postal worker initially immobilized by grief and memories of happier times when her talented son, Manny, was still alive. But after experiencing a vision of African-American activist Ida B. Wells, Mary realizes that she can use her position to bring about some change and Bruce's steely performance shows that revelatory change in drive and motivation.
The remaining three actors take on all the other roles, with Tosin Morohunfola bringing a lot of youthful energy to both the perpetrator and victim, while Jacqueline Williams and Ernest Perry, Jr., bring all of their many characters to distinct and vivid life.
The intensions spurring The Gospel of Lovingkindness are all admirable, and its drive to address a societal problem artistically is one that treads a fine balance between entertaining and educating. But despite the strong performances all-around, this smart and emotionally reflective show might oddly appeal more to audience members' heads rather than their hearts.