Steadstyle Chicago
	October 2009 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Summer People Since its inception, I have enjoyed my visits to the intimate little storefront theater located in Jefferson Park known as The Gift.  Their stories are always very honest and sincere and told in a simplistic manner, allowing their audience to get a feel for the message they are delivering.  Their current production, making its world premiere is "Summer People," written by one of their own members, Jenny Connell.  This particular piece of work, roughly 70 minutes long, has several intertwining stories, but for some reason I left the theater feeling as I was not given a complete story.  Perhaps there is more, or should be more to make the story complete. The story is set in Maine, along the ocean where campgrounds and summer homes make for the population, at least during the summer months when the "Summer People" take up residence.  But through flashbacks or flash memories, we are also in Fallujah, Iraq.  It is the summer of 2004.  Our characters are Kate (Lynda Newton), a mother of two daughters, Laura (Rae Gray) a teen who is coming of age, and Sam (the charming Grace Goble, who needs to enunciate a little better so that we can hear the words that Ms. Connell has written).  They are from Manhattan and spend their summers in the old family house.  Kate's husband has left her and she is hopeful that her relationship with her daughters will grow from this time together away from the fast pace of the big city.  The cam is owned by Scotty (deftly handled by Daniel J. Ahlfeld), who also has some ghosts of his own from his days in Vietnam. When a young stranger appears from nowhere seeking a place to camp, with no reservation, a character known as 54 (the camping lot he is assigned) things begin to change.  This young man is played by Rob Belushi as a loner with some secrets and as it turns out his own ghosts.  During some of his flashbacks or thoughts about Iraq, he is visited by his Marine buddy Paul (Justin James Farley) and the Iraqi Woman (Minita Gandhi in a role that is under explored).  There must be more to her story.  These two characters are not really there yet.  "54" sees and feels them and on more than one occasion, she touches Laura and in fact, at the ending Laura and this woman for a split second become one. In order to not ruin some of the surprise elements in the story, I will not tell you all of what happens, but it appears that  something terrible happened to "54" in Iraq, and he may have been responsible for some evil deed.  He may even be AWOL, we never really know.  There is romance in the story.  Scotty has a fling with Kate, both of them in need of someone to love and hold, and young Laura finds herself strongly attracted to "54".  The intertwining of the stories under the direction of  Paul D'Addario works as well as it can with the script he has been given and with the exception of the adorable Ms. Goble not projecting to the back row (which in The Gift is in fact the second row) the acting is very strong.  I only wish the script was up the quality of the performances. The set is an interesting piece of work by Brendan Donaldson, who utilizes the very small stage area to its best advantage and Scott Pillsbury's lighting keeps the focus where it needs to be so we don't lose sight of where we are.  The fight choreography was done by John Tovar and based on the limited space, the execution was very realistic.  The ending was a bit abrupt and left the audience not knowing that it was over.  I have always felt that if a playwright falls short of completing their story, they need to sit back and workshop it more before placing it before an audience.  I liked the concept very much and found it an enjoyable experience, but would have to say that "Summer People" is a work in progress that needs to perhaps become a 90 minute play, or even a full play with an intermission.  I want to know more.  I want to know what happens to these characters after the ending.  There just needs to be more. "Summer People" will continue through December 13, 2009 at The Gift located at 4802 N. Milwaukee Avenue at Lawrence.  Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.  Tickets are $25, $20 on Sundays and for students and seniors, and are available by calling 773-283-7071 or online at www.thegifttheatre.org.  Public transportation makes it easy to get to this theater, but should you drive, there is free parking in the lot located on Lawrence Avenue between the bike shop and CVS.  Do not park in the CVS lot.   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.