First, enter her boyfriend Nate (Keith D. Gallagher) - a white man obsessed with money, and represents the life of success and wealth that Margaret always thought she wanted. Then there is Rasheed (Al’Jaleel McGhee), Margaret’s boss with whom she enters an affair. Coming from a challenging past, Rasheed may not be able to offer Margaret the financial stability of Nate, but makes the argument that the happiness he could bring might mean even more. In addition to the love interests, Nwandu presents Carolina (Karen Rodriguez), a pregnant cleaning lady at Margaret’s office with whom she becomes close friends, and Aunt Sylvia (Linda Bright Clay), Margaret’s sassy great aunt who takes no hesitation to dictate how her niece should be living her life.
The relationships are key to understanding Margaret’s journey, and Nwandu craftily shares the story through a language of dark humor that eases the audience into the serious conversations within. From the very first scene, the Opening Night audience was laughing constantly, which made the shock of the seriousness within the second act even more potent. Beneath the wit, Nwandu raises very real questions about race and class that further emphasize Margaret’s struggle to find a life in which she can be happy.
Clever Stage Design
Nwandu writes a play about characters revolving in and out of Margaret’s increasingly chaotic life, and helmed by Portes, the artistic team creatively brings that theme to life.
Lauren Katz is a freelance director and dramaturge, and new to the Chicago Theatre Scene. She recently moved from Washington DC, where she worked with Mosaic Theater Company of DC in Company Management, as well as directed around town with various theaters. 