CheekyChicago

I have put my trust in the Lookingglass Theatre Company for a very, very long time.  Under the direction of an aptly-trained, highly intelligent ensemble of actors, directors, writers, and technicians, I’ve trusted them with the classics, the circus arts, the childhood fantasies, and the Greek myths.

Today, I trust them with a new kind of performance piece – the very contemporary, technologically advanced, uncomfortably timely Trust, co-directed by David Schwimmer and Heidi Stillman (and co-written by Schwimmer and Andy Bellin).

In the midst of checking our Blackberrys, iPhones, and (soon) iPads; updating our Facebook status; and tweeting about what we’re buying at the grocery story, there is a very serious problem on our hands.  Although our FB friends and Twitter followers may not seem predatory, there is an entire Internet full of strangers that are.  And these predators too easily and far too frequently meet their oft-younger prey.  Trust is not (just) that story.  It is the story of a suburban, seemingly well-adjusted family of five who must deal with the grief from and consequences of their eldest daughter being manipulated and ultimately assaulted by an online ‘friend’ who turns out to be the worst kind of creep.

To complement the story – which was all at once touching, pertinent, darkly humorous, and quite disturbing – was a backdrop of 25 television-type screens.  These TV’s served as the backdrop for the play. Video and still clips of lockers and hallways denote high school (New Trier, to be precise); bottles of wine and a dinner table indicate the family’s Wilmette kitchen; the marquee from Dave’s Italian Kitchen and baskets of bread insinuate a family night out; buckets of ice cream (specifically, pistachio) denote the mall’s Coldstone Creamery.

But these screens serve a much deeper purpose.  They present – as a complement to the spoken dialogue between the characters – the electronic communication that exists as part of their day-to-day life, specifically between 14-year-old Annie (exquisitely played by Allison Torem, who is an actress wise beyond her years) and her long-distance, online love interest, Charlie (expertly and creepily played by the brilliant Raymond Fox), who turns out to be a much older man and not the high school student he originally claimed. Instant messages, iChats, and email pop-ups dotted the television screens when words were not necessary.

It must be stated that veteran Chicago actor, Philip R. Smith, is at his absolute best playing Will, the father of Annie, his happy-go-lucky-turned-emotionally-disturbed teenager.  Will’s stages of grief and desire for revenge are played with the utmost passion, subtlety, and realism.

This piece is not going to succeed, sell-out or have lines around the block just because of Schwimmer’s name (although it doesn’t hurt) – it will have all of this and more because of the stellar acting and directorial genius.

So, with the advent of Lookingglass’ most modern, timely piece of theatre, I hereby continue placing my trust in their masterfully beautiful artistic skills.