Ike Holter’s Red Rex, the sixth in his seven-play Chicago cycle set in the fictional neighborhood of Rightlynd (aka the 51st Ward), is a play at war with itself. On the one hand it wants to entertain: the play is a spot-on send-up of Chicago storefront theaters and the quirky people who make up those ragtag companies. On the other hand, it wants to be a serious play, packed with meaningful observations about life and art. It succeeds on both counts. One of the more bracing aspects of Holter’s play is how it bristles with trenchant observations about race and class and the insidious way unconscious racism influences the perceptions of even well-meaning people who believe in their hearts they are not racist.
Usually there’s a touch of narcissism to this kind of meta theater, like the gentle self- criticism of a play (like Noises Off or The Play That Goes Wrong) that slaps wrists and then forgives everyone at the end—oh, aren’t we a funny, quirky lot! In Red Rex, Holter isn’t going to let anyone off the hook.
He has found a good company for his work at Steep Theatre. Every aspect of the production is flawless. Holter’s story unfolds at just the right pace, and Berry’s ensemble perfectly embodies its characters. Amanda Powell’s performance is a revelation: as the manipulative, emotionally damaged director- playwright Lana she slithers through the play, slowly revealing the racism lurking beneath her shallow white liberal platitudes. Likewise, Debo Balogun is riveting as Trevor, an intense young man trying to preserve the memory of his senselessly murdered mother.
Through 3/16: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn, 773-649-3186, steeptheatre.com, $27-$38.
