**** Recommended Highway Patrol is an intriguingly personal drama/mystery written by actress Dana Delany. I really admire her for taking something personal and potentially embarrassing and turning it into a play. In fact, Highway Patrol is a fascinating drama that will have you – by turns – almost in tears, stiff with outrage or laughing with the star. The Goodman Theatre world premiere production will only be in Chicago through February 18th, so you’ll have to hurry and get your tickets. 4 Spotlights
In a TV interview I happened to see, Delany said something to the effect that Highway Patrol is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I have to agree. By the way, she paid Chicago audiences a high compliment when she said they were the reason she decided to stage the world premiere at the Goodman. She said Chicago audiences always recognize good work. Kudos to all of you!
Highway Patrol is divided into three distinct parts – Cam, Nan/Andi and Dana. In 2012, Delany got a touching Tweet from a 13-year-old boy named Cam who had a failing heart transplant. At the urging of a friend, Peter Gallagher, she responded, leading to an ongoing connection through tweets, texts and emails.
Cam, brilliantly played by Thomas Murphy Molony, was engaging, sweet, and insightful. His tweets came in almost every day, and Delany never failed to respond, hoping to cheer Cam up by sharing details of her days. She really cared about him – enough to buy tickets for herself and her sister to visit him in Costa Rica where he lived.
Nan (Dot-Marie Jones), Cam’s grandmother, informed Delany that Cam was in the hospital because his transplant was failing. No visitors were allowed, so she cancelled her plans. As Nan and/or Cam continued to tweet, details about Delany’s family that no one should know emerged. Eventually Delany became suspicious, leading to Dana’s story.
Highway Patrol was created by Dana Delany, Mike Donahue, Dane Laffrey and Jen Silverman, who is also the Playwright and Text Curator. It is based on the digital archives of Dana Delany.
Kudos to Set Designer Dane Laffrey on the very cool set which had Dana’s trailer, her kitchen/family room, Cam’s room, an office, and even a hospital room, sliding on and off stage. Occasionally, a screen would also slide into place. Projections designed by Yee Eun Nam included tweets, profile pictures and websites.
Highway Patrol runs through February 18th in the Goodman Theatre’s Albert Theatre,170 N. Dearborn, Chicago. Most reasonable parking option for the Goodman is the Government Center garage on Lake between LaSalle and Dearborn, $18 online advance payment at www.interparkonline.com/goodmantheatre.
Running time is 2 hours with an intermission.
Performances are:
· Wednesdays at 7:30 pm
· Thursdays at 2:00 & 7:30 pm
· Fridays at 7:30 pm
· Saturdays at 2:00 and 7:30 pm
· Sundays at 2:00 pm
Accessible & Special Performances:
· Touch Tour & Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, February 17th, 12:30 pm Touch Tour, 2:00 pm Performance
· ASL Interpreted Performance, Friday, February 16th at 7:30 pm
· Spanish Subtitles, Saturday, February 17th at 7:30 pm.
· Open Captioned Performance, Sunday, February 18th at 2:00 pm.
Tickets $25-$90. FYI (312) 443-3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org/Highway