“The Birthday Party” at Steppenwolf’s new upstairs theatre, is theatre in the round at its best, with the living room set in the middle of the room amidst the audience, almost giving us the feeling that we are part of the play. With Chicago theatre heavyweights filling the cast, including John Mahoney, Ian Barford and Francis Guinan, we are treated to rich and passionate dialogue, making the show fiery and heartfelt. Harry Pinter’s “The Birthday Party” takes us from the dull times of daily living to a fast-paced, intriguing and often uncomfortable situation to which all hell breaks loose.
The story revolves around a boarding house in England run by Petey (Mahoney) and Meg (Moira Harris) where there single guest of nearly a year Stanley (Barford) has been hiding out from a past “organization”. Everything has been calm and relaxed until two mysterious guests arrive, members of this organization, to confront Stanley. Stanley, normally cocky and rather rude to his hosts, takes on a scared and fragile demeanor once confronted by the guests. But it’s Stanley’s birthday and Meg has a party planned, inviting the two guests, Goldberg and McCann. Goldberg and McCann are on their best behavior in front of Meg and Petey, while Stanley is obviously enveloped with impending doom. While Petey picks up the gravity of the situation, Meg is oblivious and is as overbearingly sweet as usual.
I enjoy watching John Mahoney in live theatre every chance I get, though I felt his tremendous gift of acting was a bit wasted here. While John Mahoney’s vast talent was harnessed by a less challenging role, Francis Guinan plays Goldberg and is just magnificent. He hammers his lines with the intensity of a wrecking ball making contact with a dilapidated building. Also to note that Sopia Sinese, daughter of actors Gary Sinese and Moira Harris, makes her Steppenwolf debut in strong fashion as “Lulu”.
“The Birthday Party” is a dark comedy that may not get you in a birthday mood, but will get you to laugh at times and uncomfortably stir in your seat at others. Directed by ensemble member Austin Pendelton, “The Birthday Party” is playing at Steppenwolf Theatre through April 28th. For more information visit www.steppenwolf.org.
