Steppenwolf Theatre Presents ANOTHER MARRIAGE Review – The Beauty and the Burden of an Ever-Evolving Love

A spotlight shines on center stage, where Nick, the husband of the title marriage, is with a young literary assistant named Macassidy sharing a bottle of champagne. He is at a party to celebrate his literary accomplishments, leaving his wife Sunny alone with their baby Josephine. Macassidy’s bubble personality and naivety clearly catch Nick by surprise.
At the same time, on the side of the stage, Sunny, his wife, can still be vaguely seen in the near darkness, holding their child as she sleeps.
This emotionally searing moment happens shortly after Nick and Sunny’s daughter is born, and is one of many instances throughout the play that explores the complexities of love.

By the time that scene arrives, we know how their store begins and ends. At the start of the play, the lights are still up when a young actor enters the nearly bare stage and sits down on a green bench, holding a journal and an iPad. She sets the iPad next to her and begins to write on her journal. It’s a few moments before the lights dim, and she is replaced by an older Nick and Sunny, reading and facing away from each other. Above them, an overhead projection reads: The End. The complicity between the two is evident as they talk about their days, and eventually walk off, arm in arm. The lights dim, and once they come back up, we are brought back in time to when they first met in college. Snow falls down onto the stage like magic, while Nick confesses his love for Sunny, who he hardly knows. He is so adamant to make her know the strength of his passion that he strips down naked before he asks her out to dinner. From the start, we are presented with two very human, very flawed, very complex characters willing to do just about anything for one another.

In this way the play is a collection of vignettes with time jumps, as we watch the relationship develop over the years.

Each vignette is titled through the projections that are apparently being typed out on an iPad by the young actor we saw at the start. She seems to be in control of the narrative, though her identity remains a mystery for the most part of act one.

We watch Nick and Sunny grow alongside each other, and learn to navigate the trials and tribulations of romance. Early in their relationship, Sunny finds out Nick is part of a family of literary legends. Wanting to be a writer herself as well, his advantage in the world of literature and lack of awareness of it becomes a growing issue, launching an interesting reflection on competition, jealousy, and success within a relationship.

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CAST:

Ian Barford
Caroline Neff
Judy Greer
Nicole Scimeca
Campbell Krausen
Shaina Schrooten
Katherine Keberlein
Chris Amos

CREATIVE TEAM:

Author: Kate Arrington
Director: Terry Kinney
Scenic Design: Robert Brill
Costume Design: Mieka Van der Ploeg
Lighting Design: Heather Gilbert
Sound Design: Rob Milburn
Sound Design: Michael Bodeen
Projection Design: Michael Salvatore Commendatore
Intimacy Consultant: Kristina Fluty
Company Voice and Text Coach: Gigi Buffington
Producing Director: Tom Pearl
Casting Director: JC Clementz
Production Stage Manager: Christine D. Freeburg
Assistant Stage Manager: Kathleen Barrett

WHEN:

June 15, 2023 - July 30, 2023

Tuesdays - 7.30pm
Wednesdays - 7.30pm
Thursdays - 7.30pm
Fridays - 7.30pm
Saturdays - 2.30pm, 7.30pm
Sundays - 2.30pm

WHERE:

Steppenwolf Theatre / Ensemble Theater
1650 N. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60614

TICKETS:

$ 20 +

For more information and tickets visit the ANOTHER MARRIAGE webpage.

Photos: Michael Brosilow

Note: Picture This Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago.