Goodman premiere 'Layalina' needs tweaking to unlock its potential
“Layalina” - ★ ★ ½
“Layalina,” the new play premiering at Goodman Theatre about a family emigrating from Iraq to the United States, begins and ends with celebrations.
In fact, Martin Yousif Zebari's drama - inspired by his family's journey from Baghdad to Skokie and developed through Goodman's Future Labs and New Stages Festival - is an extended celebration of family rooted in the immigrant experience.
To that end, the play embraces familiar tropes: the conflict between maintaining cultural traditions and embracing new ones, and young people laboring under the burden of their elders' expectations and their fears. At its core, however, “Layalina” is an affectionate, well-meaning celebration of unconditional love and acceptance and the sacrifices family members make to ensure each other's happiness.
The superior first act takes place in March 2003 at the well-appointed Baghdad home (a tastefully sumptuous space by casaboyce) belonging to Iraqi government official Yasir Ibrahim (Mattico David) and his wife, Karima (Atra Asdou). We meet the couple, their oldest son Mazin (Ali Louis Bourzgui), oldest daughter Layal (Becca Khalil) and her husband, Sahir (Waseem Alzer), upon their jubilant return from Layal and Sahir's wedding, which is to be quickly followed by the younger couple's planned departure for the United States. (Yasir and Karima's youngest children, Yousif and Marwa, are heard but not seen).
But the family's joy is cut short by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (based on subsequently discredited information) to remove dictator Saddam Hussein and destroy weapons of mass destruction.
Excited by the possibility of leadership change, Mazin, Layal and Sahir take to the streets protesting alongside their countrymen. With the family's plans to emigrate to the U.S. in jeopardy, Yasir and Karima contrive to get their children and themselves safely out of the country.
The first act, which unfolds swiftly and assuredly under director Sivan Battat and concludes with a tantalizing scene, is a taut depiction of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. But problems arise after intermission in the meandering, overlong second act, which lacks the tension and focus Zebari initially established.
The time is March 2020. The place is the Ibrahims' cozy, casual home on Skokie's Church Street, where Layal (now played by the charismatic Asdou), her now adult siblings - activist Marwa (Khalil) and graphic designer Yousif (Bourzgui) - and Sahir's adrift younger brother Amin (Alzer) await a visit from Mazin (now played by David, whose acting is first-rate), who has not seen his family since he escaped Iraq for Australia 17 years earlier.
The issues the characters face in 2020 echo those from 2003: Parents' determination to improve their children's lives; to support them emotionally and financially; the challenges of maintaining bonds and preserving a family legacy. At the same time, they're confronting gender, sexuality and social justice (the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests figure prominently).
The acting is solid throughout. The interactions between Zebari's characters are warm and credible. Case in point: the heart-to-heart late in the play between Asdou's Layal and David's Mazin, which is underscored by implicit, unconditional acceptance.
A wonderful moment, it hints at “Layalina's” potential, which some revising may well unlock.
Location: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (312) 443-3800, goodmantheatre.org
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through April 2. Also 7:30 p.m. March 21, 2 p.m. March 30. No 7:30 p.m. show March 19 and April 2
Tickets: $15-$50
Running time: About 2 hours, 10 minutes, with intermission
Parking: Nearby garages, discounted parking with Goodman Theatre validation at the Government Center Self Park at Clark and Lake streets
Rating: For teens and older
COVID-19 precautions: Masks recommended