Recommended I’m not quite sure where Steppenwolf’s latest, You Will Get Sick, fits on the quirkiness scale, but it must be close to the top. My friend and I walked out trying to figure out just what we’d seen. We had questions, so many questions! No kidding, all the questions aside, You Will Get Sick is a very good play. 4 Spotlights
In a strange, gray and slightly off-kilter world where giant crows swoop down and scoop up people who never seem to return, a disembodies voice is telling the audience every thought and idea #1 (Namir Smallwood) has. He is looking for someone to listen and he’s willing to pay. He writes it all on a piece of paper, asking the reader to call him.
#2 (Amy Morton) finds the paper. A would-be actor who never seems to get the part, she could use the money, so she calls and agrees to meet. Over a soda she listens as #1 explains that he’s getting sick and he needs her to tell his sister. She’s auditioning for the part of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and needs money for a costume, so she agrees for more money.
When they meet #3 (Sadieh Rival), his sister, she’s going on about her own problems. Interrupting, #2 blurts out the truth about #1. #3 goes totally ballistic since she nursed their brother through his illness. Their waiter, #4 (Cliff Chamberlain) can’t stop crying. With each thing he brings to the table, he cries harder and louder.
As #1 and #2 become friends of a sort, he even goes to her acting class which is crazy. #4 also appears as a really pushy insurance salesman, selling insurance against the crows.
One day, there’s a sudden cataclysmic upheaval. The gray is gone, the buildings are gone and the sky is blue, blue, blue behind a field of wheat. #1 is wandering all alone through the wheat when someone carrying a microphone appears. #1 recognizes his brother, #5 (Jordan Arredondo). They hug, they talk, then #5 hands him the mic and walks away.
What does it all mean? I have my theories, but yours might be completely different. Grab a ticket to You Will Get Sick and see what you think. This show is a must-see!
You Will Get Sick has been extended through July 20th in the Downstairs Theatre at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. Self-parking is available in the Steppenwolf Garage, accessible parking in the lot north of Front Bar. Valet parking is also available.
Running time is approximately 95 minutes, no intermission. Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 & 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm, with an added matinee on Wednesday, July 2nd at 2:00 pm. There will be no performances Friday, July 4th or Tuesday, July 8th.
Accessible performances: Audio-described & touch tour, Sunday, June 29th at 3:00 pm (1:30 pm touch tour); Open-captioned, Thursday, June 26th at 7:30 pm and Saturday, July 5th at 3:00 pm; ASL-interpreted, Friday, July 11th at 7:30 pm.
Tickets range from $20-$136.50. FYI (312) 335-1650 or www.steppenwolf.org.