TimeLine delivers striking revival of 'Paradise Lost'

TimeLine Theatre's heartfelt, pristinely acted revival of Clifford Odets' "Paradise Lost" comes at an opportune time. Written more than 70 years ago, Odets' American tragedy about a family succumbing to economic, social and political pressures still resonates. And it will continue to do so as long as the financial turmoil, corruption, layoffs and foreclosures that underscore the Depression-era drama remain the stuff of today's headlines. An indictment of a country that failed to live up to its promise, Odets' play about the fall of a middle-class family also serves as an elegy to principles (integrity, compassion) that no longer apply, and abilities (brains, talent, vision) that no longer have any value. Odets (who also wrote "Awake and Sing!" "Golden Boy" and the politically charged "Waiting for Lefty") suggests that survival in 1930s America demands ruthlessness, selfishness and a certain moral flexibility. But TimeLine's fine production has much more going for it than good timing. It has a sure-handed director in Louis Contey, whose vital, well-paced revival unfolds on Karen Hoffman's inventively conceived, comfortably middle class set dominated by baby grand piano."Paradise Lost" (which premiered in 1935 at New York's famed Group Theatre) is an impassioned play infused with uncertainty and tension which Contey does a fine job of sustaining. Gritty and unflinching, it features characters whose quaint colloquialisms and lyrical slang reflect the eloquence of the common man. That said, it's a play that tends to get a bit preachy and it's a play that, in less capable hands, could easily descend into melodrama. Fortunately, Contey doesn't let that happen. The play opens on Armistice Day 1932 in the New York City home of the Gordon family, whose paradise has already started to spoil, like the bowl of fruit that sits atop their dining table. The Depression has taken a toll on the business owned by Leo Gordon (a quietly dignified Michael Kingston) a fair-minded pocketbook designer and his hard-boiled partner Sam Katz (a blustering, sputtering Brian McCartney). It has also taken a toll on Leo's family who confront with resigned despair their impending demise. There's his pragmatic, fiercely devoted wife, Clara (the excellent Janet Ulrich Brooks); charismatic oldest son, Ben (Aaron Golden), a former Olympian with no prospects; ailing younger brother, Julie (J#252;rgen Hooper), a bank clerk too smart for his job and daughter Pearl (Mechelle Moe), a talented pianist for whom music becomes an escape. Sadly for the Gordon children, the talents their parents so carefully nurtured no longer serve them. And those which can help them survive, they do not possess. Also caught in the downward spiral is family friend Gus (played with gentle humor by Whit Spurgeon) and furnace repairman Lucas Pike (a passionate Scott Aiello), the play's socialist critic and champion of the dispossessed. The only one not caught in the downward spiral is the tortured, quick-tempered cab driver Kewpie (a raw, riveting, nicely ambivalent performance by Jeremy Glickstein reflecting menace as well as need). He's a budding criminal, whose affection for his best friend Ben is surpassed only by his resentment. The first-rate cast also includes Angela Bullard as Sam's long-suffering wife Bertha; Clayton Smerican who shines in a brief but moving turn as businessman turned homeless man desperate to preserve his tattered dignity, and Tien Doman as Ben's self-interested wife, Libby, who knows something about self-preservation."Paradise Lost" doesn't pull its punches. When the Gordon family falls, it falls hard. Yet Odets does not leave them entirely bereft. Hope remains, and with it the promise of recovery, for the family and the nation. "Paradise Lost"3 1/2 starsout of fourLocation: TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago; Times: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 21Running time: About two hours, 15 minutes, including intermissionTickets: $25-$30Box office: (773) 281-8463 or www.timelinetheatre.comRating: For teens and older