'Twilight of the Golds' presents moral dilemma

It is a story ripped from today's headlines: A prenatal genetic test reveals something awful about an unborn child. What does the couple do? Play God and abort? Or do they let the child come to term and then do all they can for the child after birth?

The fact that what they discover -- that the child has a good chance of being gay -- is not a physical handicap but, as perceived by some, a social one, only adds to the parent's quandary.

This is the plot to Jonathan Tolin's 1993 play "Twilight of the Golds," currently in previews at Apple Tree Theatre in Highland Park and opening Saturday. Director Tim Gregory admitted to being intimidated by the play.

"At first when I read it I was a little flustered," Gregory said. "I thought, 'Oh, these are people making such hard decisions and whatever they decide it is going to be hard on someone else.'"

Ultimately, however, Tobin's storytelling won Gregory over.

"I enjoy plays that tell stories, all kinds of stories," Gregory said. "I have directed musicals. I have directed classical theater, contemporary plays. This play is relevant and topical. It deals with family love and with tolerance among so-called, self-defined liberals."

The play revolves around a fictional genetic testing program that determines the sexual orientation of an unborn child. When one character discovers her son is genetically predisposed to becoming gay, a controversy erupts within her family. She considers aborting him. Her gay brother, who has not been fully accepted by his conservative family, objects. And there hangs the tale.

"I thought it was interesting that the playwright doesn't take a side," Gregory said. "He gives us a portrait of people dealing with a very difficult circumstance. We can identify with all of the characters on some level."

Gregory comes by his interest in characters honestly; he started out in theater as an actor. He came to Chicago in the early '90s from New York to appear in Marriott Theatre's "Arthur: The Musical," and he stayed in Chicago because "this is an easier town to live in as an actor."

After a while, however, he felt the urge to stretch beyond acting.

"I wanted to direct," Gregory said, "because as an actor you tell other people's stories."

But as a director you are responsible for the main story -- and making sure it all works.

"What I love about Tolin's writing," Gregory said, "is that he is able to communicate some very weighty issues in a way that is smart and elegant. He doesn't get preachy. In fact, parts of the play are very funny. It is in many respects part drama, part comedy -- a 'dramedy.' That keeps it all fresh. And that keeps the playwright from getting on a soapbox."