[rating=5] The title of a comedy written by Itamar Moses, is “The Whistle Blower”. Many people hear that and think politics, however, if you read on, you will find the actual definition as presented on Wikipedia.A whistleblower is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, or fraudulent. Whistleblowers can use a variety of internal or external channels to communicate information or allegations. Wikipedia
In this clever little comedy, Moses’ hero is a writer,Eli ( a strong performance by Ben Faigus) who after working for years has the opportunity to have his own TV show, and walks away from doing this, leaving behind his agent ( played by William Anthony Sebastian Rose II, who also plays a best friend from his past) and Richard ( Michael Kostroff, who also plays Eli’s dad, Joseph) behind. Kostroff is new to Chicago stages and a welcome addition. Both of his characters are strong. and he has a marvelous comic touch.
Eli has decided to face some hard truths and do so with everyone in his life. We all see ourselves in a different light than our friends and family do, but where is the line? In this 90 minute (no intermission) production, Eli visits each of his family members, old friends and lovers to open up and tell them the truths that he never could. The cast in this show, sharply directed by Jeremy Wechsler, on a wonderful set designed by Brian Redfern that shows how an imagination can conceive and build a set that is perfect for the production, is strong and many play a multitude of parts. This can be awkward, but the performers are able to build their characters and with the help of the costuming (Johan Gallardo)) we see the character rather than the actor. Hats off to: Andrew Jessop, Rae Gray ( who does three),RJW Mays and Julia Alvarez.
The lighting (Levi Wilkins) and sound/composer of original music (Jeffrey Levin) were right on and the props by Annamae Durham were ideal. The violence design by Almanya Narula managed to get its point across. It is difficult in watching this play not to think about your own life and if there were times that you neglected to be as honest as you could have been with family, co-workers, customers, or friends. Is telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth worth what might come out of it? Will people accept that what you are confessing now is the truth or would they think it may be a coverup for lies you told them in the past. It is in fact a double edge sword.
You can find out for yourself, but only up until June 17, 2023
with performances as listed below:
Thursdays:7:30pm
Box Office: 773-975-8150
More Stories
“Mamma Mia!” Reviewed by Paul Lisnek
“The Simon & Garfunkel Story”
“Women Beware Women”