Letts examines messy side of middle age in Steppenwolf's 'Linda Vista'
Pretty view.
That's the English translation of “Linda Vista,” the title of Tracy Letts' latest play, in its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre.
It's a bit of a misnomer. The title refers to an apartment complex on San Diego's coast, where sardonic, 50-year-old Wheeler (Ian Barford, superb in a role that fits him like a glove) has moved while finalizing a divorce. Wheeler's fully furnished apartment has no such vista. From his beige, builders-grade abode, the ocean is barely visible.
Wheeler's view isn't pretty. Neither is his life, which Pulitzer Prize winner Letts superbly depicts in this smart, very funny, hugely entertaining play chronicling a newly single, middle-aged malcontent's messy existence.
But characterizing “Linda Vista” as merely a midlife crisis comedy sells it short. There's more to Letts' wry dramedy and its selfish, exasperating, charismatic central character, who possesses enough self-awareness to recognize he's in a skid, but lacks the wherewithal to pull out of it.
We first meet Wheeler and his best friend Paul (Tim Hopper, Chicago's go-to actor of late) carting mismatched canvas bags and plastic milk crates containing albums (remember those?) into Wheeler's new apartment.
Reeling from a prolonged divorce, Wheeler has traded his unseen ex-wife's garage for a bland, two-bedroom apartment in a complex with a pool he won't use for fear his neighbors will tag him as the creepy middle-aged guy who hangs around the pool.
“I've got middle-aged desperation written all over me,” confesses Wheeler to his co-worker Anita (Caroline Neff). A twenty-something college dropout wise beyond her years, Anita works at a Nikon store where Wheeler - a former newspaper photographer - repairs cameras. While their camaraderie suggests the possibility of something more, Anita puts on the breaks, fearing a relationship with Wheeler might undermine the tenuous control she's established over her life.
But Wheeler doesn't lack female companionship. Paul and his wife, Margaret (Sally Murphy), set him up on a blind date with life coach Jules (a subtly complex, very real Cora Vander Broek), who has a “master's degree in happiness” and is herself recovering from a bad breakup.
She quickly sizes up Wheeler as a turtle who has lost his shell and doesn't know it. He sizes her up as do-gooder who wants to fix him. They're not wrong,
Their relationship has barely begun when Wheeler meets snappish, sharp-edged Minnie (a pitch-perfect Kahyun Kim), a rockabilly hipster who lives in Linda Vista with her boyfriend and recognizes Wheeler as the creepy, middle-aged guy who hangs around the pool. (For the record, the genuinely creepy, middle-aged guy is Wheeler's boss Michael, played with a hint of menace and sleaze by the deliciously unsettling Troy West.)
Wheeler's love life gets complicated after a pregnant Minnie shows up at his door following a breakup with her abusive boyfriend. Before long, he's sleeping with both Minnie and Jules. While director Dexter Bullard's sex scenes are explicit (this is not a production for those offended by nudity or strong language), so are the emotions these scarred, vulnerable characters express. When everything else is stripped away, they're left with the truth.
What happens next, well, that would spoil the play, which is well-served by Bullard's blunt, muscular direction and Todd Rosenthal's confined, ever-revolving set. Against the backdrop of San Diego's glittering coast, Bullard's staging suggests how limited Wheeler's view really is.
The Steely Dan snippets are spot-on. The cast, especially Barford and Hopper, is first-rate. Letts reserves some of his best writing for Barford's engagingly self-absorbed Wheeler and Hopper's contentedly amenable Paul. Their conversations feel real, albeit wittier than most. Wheeler's impassioned pop-culture-inspired rants and unflinching assessment of his own shortcomings are worth the price of admission. So is Paul's perceptive riff on human behavior and deathbed musings.
Kudos all around. The view from “Linda Vista” isn't pretty. But it is illuminating and it is expertly told.
“Linda Vista”
★ ★ ★ ½
Location: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, (312) 335-1650 or
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through May 21. Also 2 p.m. May 3, 10 and 17; 1:30 p.m. May 21. No shows May 13; no 7:30 p.m. show May 21
Running time: About two hours, 50 minutes with intermission
Tickets: $20-$94
Parking: $11 in the parking garage adjacent to the theater, limited street parking available
Rating: For adults; contains adult language, strong sexual content, sustained nudity