****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED**** Suzan-Lori Parks' play "Topdog/Underdog" has always been a showcase for two supremely talented actors. When it premiered off-Broadway, the 2002 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama starred Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright. During the 2022/2023 season, the Broadway revival was graced with two highly-respected and quite well-known actors, both of whom received Tony Award nominations for Lead Actor in a Play. The production itself went on to win the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Now, Invictus Theatre Company is presenting a powerhouse production, under the brilliant and compassionate direction of Aaron Reese Boseman, that features two of Chicago's very own up-and-coming stars that shine ever so brightly. 4 SPOTLIGHTS
DeMorris Burrows plays Booth, the younger brother of Lincoln (Mikha'el Amin). Booth is currently unemployed and living in a highly dilapidated apartment. Lincoln, who has a job working at an arcade where he dresses as Abraham Lincoln in order to be shot at by the customers in a sort of Ford's Theatre re-enactment of the assassination, is recently divorced and staying with Booth temporarily. Of the two brothers, Booth is the more idealistic. Surviving mainly by shoplifting, he longs to follow in his big brother's footsteps by becoming a successful "operator" or street hustler dealing three-card monte to unsuspecting "marks" in order to make a profit. Having been out of the game for a long time, Lincoln vehemently discourages Booth from falling into that trap.
Burrows brings a youthful and earnest energy to his portrayal of Booth. At the pre-show, Burrows is already on stage, lounging in bed listening to hip-hop music, throwing darts at a dartboard, playing hockey and basketball with a hacky sack and other lively animated activities. He does an excellent job of capturing both Booth's joyous exuberance as well as his gnawing doubts about his own self-worth. In one humorous yet emotionally revealing moment, he even questions whether he "measures up" to his older brother in terms of manhood. Burrows is perhaps most touching in the scenes in which Booth fantasizes about his girlfriend Grace and the future that they have together. Once he saves enough money, he plans on asking Grace to marry him. Burrows is at his peak during nearly the entire second act, which opens as Booth anxiously awaits Grace's arrival for a formal dinner party that he has orchestrated and then ultimately ends in tragedy.
Amin, as Lincoln, is simply sensational. Being the older brother, Lincoln is a more relaxed and unassuming character. This does not mean that it is an easier role to play. Far from it. Amin tackles this very demanding role and finds all of the essential comedic aspects of this dark and troubled soul. He is in complete control of his performance from the very moment that he appears on stage, and never lets up. It is a relenting and intense performance, one of the very best that you may get to witness this season. Amin may be at his strongest at the very end of the first act, as Lincoln, finally succumbing to the power that a deck of cards possesses added to the memories of his once glorious fame, sets up his little dealer's table in order to practice his three-card monte. It is an eerie and disturbing moment which Amin beautifully captures, and has the feeling of a heroin addict who has been clean for many years pulling out his old, familiar kit to arrange his metal spoons, cotton balls, tie-off, lighter and hypodermic needle for one final hit.
Technical Director/Scenic Designer Kevin Rolfs has created a perfectly squalid bi-level set. The raised area is Booth's bedroom, complete with a hand sink that is partially detached from the wall that it was originally mounted on and which has no drain pipe, while the lower level is Lincoln's living area. Petter Wahlback has fashioned a very urban sound design and the lighting design, by Brandon Wardell and Josiah Croegaert, is especially effective, particularly in the use of tight focus spotlights on Burrows and Amin during highly dramatic moments. A special shout-out to Keenan Odenkirk who served as Cardistry Consultant, a credit that you don't see listed in your program every day.
"Topdog/Underdog" is being presented at Invictus Theatre Company's new home, Windy City Playhouse. The space is easily three times larger than their former home in Edgewater. This critically-acclaimed company is offering an audacious and exciting new season of four distinctly different works. May they all be as engaging and rewarding as this extremely satisfying production of "Topdog/Underdog."
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"Topdog/Underdog" continues through March 31, 2024
Windy City Playhouse is located at 3014 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL
Performance Schedule: Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:00 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 PM
Tickets: Please visit www.invictustheatreco.com
Run time is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission