“Lettie”

[rating=5] Victory Gardens Theater has been one of  Chicago’s World Class companies for over 40 years, and even with the changes over the last decade, they seem to continue to find the right works to put on their stage. The current production of Boo Killebrew’s “Lettie”, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew is a World Premiere, and worthy of your attention! This is a story that is gutsy, emotional and very real. At the very onset of the play, we see Lettie getting out of her orange jumpsuit and into civilian clothes as she leaves prison where she has just spent seven years. She is about to start her new life or as we learn later, jump-start her old one and try to put the puzzle pieces back where they belong.

Lettie ( a remarkable performance by  Caroline Neff, who will win your heart with her character development) is placed in a half-way house and a job training program. On the job, she meets fellow parolee, Minny ( deftly handled by Charin Alvarez, who has quite the comic touch in this role). While these ladies are from different worlds and cultures, they bond well and as the story progresses , feed off each other’s energy and become almost “sisters”.

However, Lettie does have a real sister, Carla ( a solid performance by Kirsten Fitzgerald) who has kind of raised Lettie’s kids as if they were hers, almost taking Lettie out of the equation. Lettie wants nothing more than to live a clean life in order to gain the love and trust of her children, teens, River ( well -played by Matt Farabee) and Layla ( Krystal Ortiz). Her sister and her husband, Frank ( Ryan Kitley) have raised the kids in their Christian home in a manner that is the total opposite of what they had as little ones and have tried very hard to recreate a new family for them ( sans Lettie).

What Killebrew does in this 90 minute play ( no intermission) is capture the portrait of women who come from less than the best of life-styles, with limited education and opportunities, showing what hardships come from just being alive. Killebrew deals with racial unbalance, the criminal justice system, social issues, gender and race in the workplace as well as age discrimination. There is a great deal of emotion in explaining the difficulty of having been incarcerated and the difficulties in coming out of a prison life and attempting to get back into the normal world that had been left behind.

What Lettie deals with, having had very little childhood of her own, due to parents who were not there for her, and being forced to raise two children on her own, seeking money where available, caused her to take the easier road in life, and eventually to the life of a prisoner. What does one do when they have kids and the life they had is gone? Is it right for a sibling to take on those kids, but over the years decide that they have earned the right to call those HER kids? There are some wonderful scenes in this story, some with comic overtones, others with love expressed by the characters and then those where hate is also shown. They say that love and hate are the very closes of emotions, and in this piece, you will see this to be factual.

I will not give anything away, but will tell you that even with all of the emotions that we see from start to finish, the ending is one that is both happy and makes sense. Not just for Lettie herself , but for all the characters. You will find a smile in your heart. The technical aspects of the production are top-notch, with a set by Andrew Boyce that is very fitting and allows for the scenes to switch with very little time lost in transition. The sound ( and music composition) by Mikhail Fiksel is perfect as are Lee Fiskness’s lights. Jesse Gaffney’s props and Melissa Ng’s costumes round out he technical portions with the exceptions of the fight choreographer, Greg Poljacik (smashing) and the projections by Stephan Mazurek, showing parts of Chicago that most of us have never gone to. These items make this show complete!

“Lettie” will continue at Victory Gardens Theater located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue ( the Biograph) thru May 6th ( although I would expect an extension) with performances as follows:

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays  7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

Tickets range from $15- $56 and are available at the box office, by calling 773-871-3000 or online at www.victorygardens.org

ASSESSIBLE performance schedule

word for word: open captioning April 20th, 21st and 25th

Audio Description touch tour: 4/20 (touch at 6 p.m.), 4/29 (touch tour at 1:30 )

ASL  4/20

After each performance a post show conversation is available ( no extra charge)

On 4/18 The Grace House will share their stories

for more, visit www.victorygardens.org

Parking on the street is metered and in the area, zoned for residents. Valet parking is available at the theater.

Public transportation is still the best and there are some garage spaces at the old Children’s Hospital Garage just down the street on Lincoln Avenue ( south of Fullerton)

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Lettie”.