'Rose Tattoo' an early valentine to Chicago theatergoers

Shattered Globe Theatre delivers to theatergoers an early valentine in the form of its heartfelt, exquisitely acted revival of “The Rose Tattoo,” Tennessee Williams' love story about a fiery Sicilian seamstress consumed with sorrow over her husband's death whose passion for life is rekindled by an unlikely suitor.

At the center of director Greg Vinkler's intimate, artfully staged production stands longtime Shattered Globe ensemble member Eileen Niccolai, a pert, petite actress whose volcanic performance drives this grand tale of passion and betrayal, grief and reconciliation.

The action unfolds in 1951 in a Gulf Coast town populated by Sicilian immigrants, including seamstress Serafina Delle Rose (the superb Niccolai). She is happily married to the virile, rose-tattooed Rosario, whose job driving a banana truck serves as a cover for his real occupation: hauling drugs for local mobsters.

After Rosario is murdered, an inconsolable Serafina isolates herself and her teenage daughter, the wise-beyond-her-years Rosa (a nuanced performance by the winsome Daniela Colucci). Rejecting the rumors about her husband, who was not the ideal man she imagined, Serafina assuages her grief with memories of their passion.

“The memory of a love doesn't make you unhappy unless you believe a lie that makes it dirty,” she says, remaining defiantly loyal despite overwhelming proof of her husband's infidelity. “I don't believe in the lie.”

Years pass, and the overprotective Serafina does her best to foil the romantic pursuits of her daughter, now on the cusp of her own sexual awakening. The object of Rosa's affection is Jack (the endearingly authentic Drew Schad), a courteous young sailor she meets at a high school dance.

Meanwhile, Serafina's passion is reignited by the arrival of the amiable if somewhat opportunistic Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Nic Grelli), a gentle man saddled with a surname that in Italian means “eat a horse.” A young Sicilian truck driver with a clown's face and the body of her late husband, Alvaro recognizes in Serafina a fellow lonely heart. Admitting he seeks a nice, financially independent older woman who will provide him security in exchange for love and affection, he begins an awkward courtship which Serafina does not rebuff, despite an initial seduction that goes awry.

Absolutely endearing and entirely guileless, Grelli delights as the bumbling, earnest young man offering a lifeline to a drowning woman.

There's nothing fussy or extraneous about Vinkler's staging. Every scene feels authentic in this intimate, immersive production, which shifts seamlessly between highly comic and achingly poignant. That's true of Sarah Ross' set, a modest, weathered but tidy cottage, which lighting designer Charles Cooper bathes in warm, Gulf Coast light. And it's true of Sara Jo White's period costumes done in cheery florals.

Vinkler has assembled a fine ensemble led by longtime Shattered Globe member and Gurnee resident Doug McDade as the discomfited Father De Leo, whose well-meaning piety provides little comfort to his flock. Christina Gorman, who appeared in several Fox Valley Repertory productions, has a nice cameo as a sharp-tongued client who disabuses Serafina of her illusions. And Debra Rodkin, a veteran of Glen Ellyn's defunct Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, plays the loyal Assunta, Serafina's confidant.

But it's Niccolai's performance that propels Shattered Globe's production. Relentless and intense, it spans the emotional spectrum from comic to tragic, with the comic bits (accompanied by Niccolai's infectious quaver) especially entertaining. Serafina is a woman consumed by emotions, and we read them all — fury, anguish, desperation, passion and delight — in Niccolai's ever-changing expression.

It's a bravura performance. And every moment rings true.

“The Rose Tattoo”

★ ★ ★ ★

<b>Location:</b> Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. (773) 975-8150, <a href="http://shatteredglobe.org">shatteredglobe.org</a> or<a href="http:// theaterwit.org"> theaterwit.org</a>

<b>Showtimes: </b>8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, through Feb. 28. Also 3 p.m. Feb. 28.

<b>Tickets:</b> $15-$33

<b>Running time</b> About two hours, 30 minutes with intermission

<b>Parking:</b> Paid street parking nearby; $10 valet

<b>Rating:</b> Mature content, for teens and older