**** Recommended Shattered Globe Theatre’s production of Becky Nurse of Salem is a play that grew on me. I didn’t think I liked it, but the more I thought about it, the more it intrigued me. Playwright Sarah Ruhl always seems to pick an interesting topic for her plays, and then takes the story in a really unexpected direction. In this case, Ruhl uses a real person, Rebecca Nurse, a hard-of-hearing, 71-year-old mother of nine, who was hung as a witch in 1692, as a starting point for a modern tale about an outspoken woman with modern problems. 4 Spotlights
Becky (Linda Reiter) works as a tour guide at the Museum of Witchcraft in Salem. She needs her job because she’s responsible for her granddaughter, Gail (Isabella Maria Valdés) since her daughter overdosed. Becky has mixed feelings – a little bit of pride, a lot of resentment – about the museum’s centerpiece, a statue of her ancestor, Rebecca Nurse. She often takes her lunch break to vent about her crummy life at her friend Bob’s (Ramón Camín).
Although she tries to follow the museum’s script she often blurts out her own opinions, even though she’s been warned by her brand new, college grad (sneer) boss, Shelby (Hilary Williams). When she goes completely off-script adding some salty language offending a religious tour, she gets fired. The only job she qualified for was just taken by Stan (Diego Rivera-Rodriguez), who’s so young he’s dating her granddaughter.
Looking to fix her life, she consults a local Witch (Rebecca Jordan), but that doesn’t work very well. When she decides to ‘borrow’ the statue of her ancestor, don a costume, and lead her own tour, she’s arrested and goes to jail. Since she doesn’t have bail money, she has to stay. She informs her Jailer (Adam Schulmerich) that she has a terrible headache but won’t let her have her ‘meds’ – which introduces a new, entirely different theme – the opioid epidemic. I wonder if Ruhl didn’t tackle too much with this one – not to mention the “lock her up” dream sequence. It’s up to you.
Becky Nurse of Salem, written in 2019, had its premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and an Off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center in 2022. The Shattered Globe production, is directed by Becky Noonan, a frequent collaborator with Sarah Ruhl.
The Shattered Globe Theatre production of Becky Nurse of Salem runs through November 10th at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Park in Theater Wit’s lot across the street for $10 (pay at box office). Running time is 2 hours with an intermission.
Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm with an added 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday, November 16th. Audio Description and Touch Tour offered Friday, November 8th, tour at 6:45 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Open Captions are offered Sunday, November 10th at 3:00 pm. Tickets range from $15-$52. FYI (773) 975-8150 or www.sgtheatre.org.