Stacy Stoltz, backed up by Samantha Gleisten, Halena Kays and Jennifer Grace in The Hypocrites 4.48 Psychosis.

Of course, such a play has its weaknesses as well. The character development remains subtle, at best. It’s more of a case study than a story, so the script lacks arc. And without humor, the subject character—a suicidally depressed young woman—can be tough to spend time with.

Director Sean Graney’s production for The Hypocrites highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of Kane’s text. It effectively evokes the mood of its central character. Graney accents the instability of her reality by staging the piece flexibly, with no permanent seating. Instead, the audience can shift between the three platforms where most of the action takes place. In actress Stacy Stoltz, he gets a performance of unmitigated intensity that ultimately drives home the central dilemma of the play: What to do when the only way to survive the world is to leave it?

However, the strengths get equal play with the weaknesses. Suicide is generally self-indulgent—a point that’s acknowledged early in the play. Nothing in this production suggests that this suicide is anything but equally self-indulgent, which makes the whole scenario less interesting. This woman appears to have no urge to live at all, so it’s just a matter of time before she does herself in. The outcome’s never in doubt. And if there’s no doubt of the outcome, then the character doesn’t really change. The production lacks shape, coming off as an extended scream, as opposed to a gradual build to a scream. And an hour is a long time to spend standing and watching someone (figuratively) scream. Graney’s staging—an interesting choice—leaves the actors with the unenviable task of communicating Kane’s dense verbiage to a fluid, shifting audience, and much of its power is lost to at least half the crowd at any given moment.

Some will find this production to be an absorbing peek into a dark, dark world. Others will find it to be self-indulgent and unsubtle. More than most, appreciation (or a lack of) will depend as much on the audience as it does on this production.

4.48 Psychosis—The Hypocrites

Michael Phillips, Tribune—“[T]he staging piles on near the end, just when it would be better off going for calm, cold intimacy. At one point, underscoring the self-inflicting word ‘punch,’ the three spooks physically brutalize the suicidal woman. It’s a bit much. There are times when Graney’s production takes a theatrically jazzy way out of an exceedingly dark corner. Yet, throughout the 70 minutes, you’re responding to a fully conceived expression of a state of mind. 4.48 Psychosis is, finally, a death warrant issued by the author to herself. Still, something in Kane’s words clings to life.”

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—“4.48 Psychosis was the last of Kane’s four plays—initially produced just after the British dramatist committed suicide in 1999, at the age of 28. And in director-designer Sean Graney (who for years has demonstrated his unique brilliance, but only now is getting the high-profile showcase he deserves as part of Steppenwolf’s admirable Visiting Company Initiative), it has found an ideal interpreter. In Stoltz, the actress he has chosen to portray the woman who is clearly Kane’s alter ego, he has tapped the perfect creative partner.”

Kelly Kleiman, Reader—“Sarah Kane’s play vividly dramatizes the struggle between a woman and her psychiatrist over whether the woman’s despair is an illness to be cured or simply another take on what it means to be human. The play—premiered posthumously after Kane committed suicide—receives an unremittingly intense production from the Hypocrites. Sure-handedly directed by Sean Graney, it rests securely on Stacy Stoltz’s explosive but nuanced performance as the protagonist.”

Nina Metz, New City—“Director Sean Graney has constructed a kind of surround-sound diorama in which you, the audience, stand and bear witness to the demise of this unnamed narrator. Graney has punched the stream-of-consciousness dialogue with Technicolor images that reflect the odd details of dreams and heighten the script’s gallows humor. It is thoroughly engaging in that regard; for a show about suicide, one that actually depicts suicide, this production is remarkably easy to swallow—which is perhaps its biggest flaw. For all its inventiveness, the experience leaves little, if any, emotional residue.”

Lawrence Bommer, Free Press—“In short, Sarah’s self-disgusted surrogate is seriously depressed, a point that seems no more powerful at the end than at the start. That’s a problem since, starting at full throttle, Graney’s stark exercise in extremity can never top itself. It doesn’t last one minute shorter than it should. Of course, given this set-up, the actors can always count on a standing ovation—but is the audience merely rewarding its own endurance?”

Rick Reed, Windy City—“Luckily for Chicago audiences, this play fell into the hands of emerging genius Sean Graney, who secures a place with this work at the very forefront of Chicago’s best directors. Another way Kane’s suicide is tragic is that she isn’t alive to see this amazing interpretation of her work. Without going into detail about what to expect specifically, Graney manages to lay open the pain, anguish, despair, heart, and humor at the play’s center so intimately that you simply cannot walk away from the theater unchanged.”

Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams—Victory Gardens

Chris Jones, Tribune—“In the two lead roles of Luciana and Luca, Alex Meneses and Ivan Vega make for a highly attractive, evocative presence. They’re terrific when reacting to the Cuban characters, but they’re also not especially at ease with each other. And because Cruz has injected a forbidden sensuality into their relationship, that’s intermittently appropriate and also a serious production weakness. In short, this pair catches our interest, but their mutual dilemma needs to be more compelling. This is a show, I suspect, that needs time to gel. Actors have to feel their way into Cruz’s plays.”

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—“Although a dark and warping secret lies at the heart of Hortensia—and although the play is anchored in historical events—it feels about as substantial as a puff of cigar smoke. What makes you pay attention is the lovely language, the gentle comedy and the engaging, well-meaning characters whose dreams seem so impossible. The finer points of plotting have been more or less brushed over here, but since Cruz is dealing with a museum of dreams, it’s not hard to go along for the ride. In addition, director Diane Rodriguez has assembled such genuine and appealing actors that you find yourself rooting for their happiness.”

Kerry Reid, Reader—“Nilo Cruz’s drama concerns a brother and sister—Cuban refugees and former lovers—who attempt to reunite in their homeland during the Pope’s visit there. Cruz taps into some of the same evocative sensuality and longing woven into his Pulitzer-winning Anna in the Tropics. But this earlier effort is too formally and politely presented given the taboo at its center.”

Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City—“Of course, this seductive ambiance tends to retard our attention to the dry, cold-blooded expository facts, making for an appreciation of our story intuitive at best. Indeed, audience members seated in the wrong parts of the Victory Gardens’ auditorium may miss salient plot points altogether. What is manifest from every vantage, however, is the atmosphere conjured by director Diane Rodriguez and her perfectly-selected actors... Together, this ensemble—like the mysterious icons in Hortensia’s household shrine, each one illuminating the other—engage our empathy with such sensual allure that we leave wanting to book the next flight to Havana.”

Nathan the Wise—Chicago Festival of the Arts

Kerry Reid, Tribune—“There’s certainly nothing chintzy about Nathan the Wise, the inaugural production of the Chicago Festival of the Arts. The cast is a stellar lineup of longtime local talent, the lovely set is by the gifted Linda Buchanan, and the moral message at the heart of the tale is unassailable, particularly for the holiday season; people of all religions need to learn to live together in peace. So why does so much of this play feel like a slog through an ecumenical version of a History Channel documentary? Is it the solemn vocal deliveries in director Rachel Silverman’s production? Partly. But most of the blame should be placed squarely at the feet of playwright Paul D’Andrea, whose clumsy exposition and penchant for maximum speechifying nearly sinks the admittedly fascinating story.”

Kelly Kleiman, Reader—“[T]he Chicago Festival of the Arts’ debut production—Paul D’Andrea’s adaptation of Gotthold Lessing’s 18th-century play about the Crusades, set in Jerusalem during the 12th-century reign of the tolerant sultan Saladin—is the best Christmas show you’re likely to see this year, full of peace on earth and goodwill toward everyone. David Darlow is the perfect Nathan, a Jewish merchant modeled on the scholar Maimonides: as the still heart of the action, Darlow looks like a Chagall rabbi or the Moses that Cecil B. De Mille should have had in mind.”

John Beer, New City—“While on the page the Jewish merchant Nathan’s relatively unmixed benevolence and wisdom leave him a little remote, Chicago veteran David Darlow invests him with a thrilling and tangible humanity. Darlow’s superlative performance is strongly backed by turns from Michael Fosberg as the sympathetic Muslim sultan Saladin and Kevin McKillip’s vigorous, cape-waving Knight Templar. Director Rachel Silverman and scenic designer Linda Buchanan make terrific use of the Theatre Building space, embellishing Lessing’s drama with gentle flourishes.”

Top Shelf—Factory Theatre

Nina Metz, Tribune—“Over-the-topness, one should note, has never been a problem for Factory Theater, a company that generally adheres to a louder-the-better performance philosophy. Sometimes, though, you just wish they’d learn when to say when. That being said, there are some very funny performances here, and the storyline ends with a courtroom scene that is an exceptional piece of comedy (even if it needs to be cut by half)... However, in its current long and meandering form, the show squanders nearly all the goodwill it accumulates. Leave this one on the shelf.”

Kim Wilson, Reader—“The Factory Theater presents Scott Oken’s new comedy about a minister who’s trying to take over a strip club so he can tear it down to make way for a religious mall. Nick Digilio directs. The story’s pretty predictable, as is the ‘whore with a heart of gold’ stereotype. But the strippers’ character quirks provide a steady stream of pleasant surprises. The diverting quips and sight gags, though cleverer than average, aren’t enough to deliver the story’s potential.”

Quote of the Fortnight

“A show this silly is critic-proof.”—Laura Molzhan reviewing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Auditorium Theatre in the Reader.