Profiles gives LaBute drama no-holds-barred production
For the better part of two years, Profiles Theatre has devoted itself to Neil LaBute, a playwright who shares the company's affinity for the kind of bracing theater that goes down like a straight shot of tequila.
A distiller of caustic, darkly comic, consistently disturbing dramas about the cruelties people inflict upon each other, LaBute found his perfect distributor in Profiles.
Long before 2006's "autobahn," Profiles' first LaBute production, the theater had established itself as a lean, aggressive company with a penchant for darkly intimate dramas with an undercurrent of menace. That shared sensibility prompted an extended collaboration between the playwright and Profiles, which has proved especially adept at interpreting LaBute's work.
More Coverage Video "In a Dark Dark House."
Clearly the playwright thinks so too, having granted the company the rights to the second production of his latest play, "In a Dark Dark House," which premiered in New York last year. And director Joe Jahraus affirms it with his take-no-prisoners production of the unsettling psycho-drama about a family whose legacy is comprised of secrets and lies, violence and abuse.
The story centers on a pair of estranged brothers. Drew (Hans Fleischmann, affecting the easy geniality of arrested adolescence) is a married attorney and a successful real estate developer whose ethical lapses got him disbarred; his substance abuse problems have him looking at jail time. Unmarried older brother Terry (a wary, conflicted Darrell W. Cox, who plays those emotions like a virtuoso) is a Gulf War veteran working as a security guard and struggling to keep himself together emotionally.
Savvy enough to get himself sent to a psychiatric hospital instead of jail following his arrest for DUI, Drew asks Terry to visit and reveals childhood abuse. Insisting his bad behavior is a delayed response to the trauma and thinking the information might impact his sentence, he asks Terry to confirm the abuse to the judge. Drew's revelation has a profound impact on Terry, who agrees to testify on his brother's behalf. It also effects Jennifer, played by high school junior Allison Torem, a flirty, 16-year-old in over her head before she realizes it.
A well-acted show, "Dark House" features finely honed performances by Fleischmann and Cox (whose helplessness in the final scene is devastating) as well a solid professional debut by Torem.
Being a LaBute play, it has a sexual component and unresolved issues. Being a LaBute play, it involves manipulation and self-interest. His plays typically follow a formula. This one's no exception, and it didn't take me long to figure out where it was headed. But having Profiles and LaBute in the driver's seat, I didn't mind going along for the ride.
"In a Dark Dark House"
3 stars out of four
Location: Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway, Chicago
Times: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; through May 11
Running Time: About 90 minutes, no intermission
Tickets: $25, $30
Parking: Limited parking; paid lot at 4100 N. Clarendon, one block east of the theater at Clarendon and Belle Plaine
Box office: (773) 549-1815 or profilestheatre.org
Rating: For adults, strong language and sexual content