Suburban playwright's 'Naperville' gets Chicago premiere

At some point in a writer's professional life, he or she hears this advice: Write about what you know.

Mat Smart took that advice to heart and applied it to his play “Naperville,” a poignant portrait of perseverance in its Chicago-area premiere at Theater Wit.

The Naperville native and Waubonsie Valley High School graduate sets his dramedy at a Caribou Coffee, located in the heart of the sprawling West suburban burg where lawns are tidy and parking is free.

The first person we meet is Anne (Abby Pierce, whose natural charm recalls Emma Stone), a Naperville native who's preparing a podcast on Joseph Naper, a shipbuilder and captain who founded the city. Keeping her coffee cup full is the ever-solicitous manager TC (played with endless perkiness by Andrew Jessop, a standout in director Jeremy Wechsler's outstanding cast).

They're joined by one of the regulars, Candice (Jean Marie Koon, who substituted for Laura T. Fisher at the performance I attended), who's been blinded as a result of a recent accident. Escorting her is her son Howard (Mike Tepeli, in a delicate, authentic performance), who has returned from Seattle to care for her. The last to arrive is Candice's friend Roy (Charlie Strater), an outgoing man and devout Christian who has made cheering up other people his life's mission.

The strained relationship between Candice and Howard dominates the play. She stubbornly insists on navigating her disability on her own terms. Fearful of losing her, Howard is protective and controlling. Of course they aren't the only Caribou patrons with issues.

Anne, who has returned home to live with her parents after a divorce, grapples with the decision that ended her marriage and claimed her self-respect. Roy tries to atone for mistakes he believes he made with his own mother. TC struggles to bounce back after circumstances derailed his dreams.

Ultimately, that is what “Naperville” is all about: people rebuilding their lives, starting over after disappointment and loss, rebounding from failure. It's about planting roots in order to thrive again, just as Joe Naper transformed from seafarer to land dweller.

Smart's dialogue can get a bit precious and the final scene goes on a bit long, but Wechsler's production is gentle and genuine. And the playwright earns kudos for affectionately saluting suburbanites rather than sending them up, as some theatergoers have come to expect from a Chicago storefront.