"Tranquillity Woods" Is A Real Must At Steppenwolf Garage

theater, current calendar

Tranquillity Woods is the new play by one of my all time favorite playwrights, Chicagoan Joel Drake Johnson.  It is directed by Sandy Shinner.  If you've heard that Chicago can be home to some of the best original theater in the country, and I think that's the truth, here's a chance to experience something very special in its' workshop version.

The play is on the boards right now, for a very short time, in rotating repertory at Steppenwolf's Garage Theater and part of its' 3rd Annual First Look Repertory of New Work there. 

Personally I don't applaud all Steppenwolf plays since many are mainstream efforts geared to mainstream audiences and, let's not kid ourselves, that kind of thing keeps S afloat.

Johnson's work, however is definitely not mainstream.  The characters at first seem bizarre and off the wall but suddenly you realize they are meant to depict a world we all know but often fear facing.  So, I'd say this work is all about honesty, often jarringly so.  You can always count on comedy and tragedy in Johnson's work.  He has an uncanny ability to search out the hidden truth in life's dramatic and everyday moments.

Joel will have a new play premiering at Victory Gardens in the spring of 2008 also directed by Sandy Shinner and another play, The End Of The Tour will be presented by the Road Theater in Los Angeles in January.  He recently retired from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire where he taught theater and playwriting classes.  As a farewell gift, his students presented him with a Shi-tzu named Adlai, a favorite gift.

After you've seen the play, send me your comments.  That way Joel can see them too.

I should add, there are two other plays in this festival of developing productions.  Tickets are $15 each.  For more info, access www.steppenwolf.org/boxoffice and click on Joel Johnson's photo, just like the one above, courtesy Steppenwolf.

Comments

[Cara Coyle]

I saw Tranquility Woods last night, and I was really impressed. I'm a former student of Joel, and it's always exciting to see his plays. For a rather bleak hospital room setting, I was pleased that I laughed out loud several times throughout the show. The tragic theme of a dying husband is entertainingly offset by the well crafted comic dialogue. The range of characters present enough friction to enjoy their squabbles but not too much where you feel uncomfortable about the themes of abuse, death and racism. Much praise to Joel for creating female characters who support each other under a circumstance where they could easily have torn each to shreds. Having been taught by Joel in suburban Chicago, I always enjoy his tragicomic portrayals of suburban families.