PicksInSix Review: Fireflies - Northlight Theatre
WE ARE ALL PLAYING WITH FIRE
Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder
The audience was delightfully greeted with the nostalgic doo-wop of The Drifters as we entered the theater for Northlight’s “Fireflies” and the mood was set. We were traveling back to the ‘60s and we were seated to take a sneak peek, like a fly on the wall, into an intimate kitchen setting. Despite the charming design, however, the sentimental setting was quickly upset when the first sounds of bombs shook the space, and the sheer intensity of sound and lights made this fly want to scatter. Not only were we entering a home, we were entering a war zone.
After a booming start, the air was quickly cleared when introduced to the playful marriage dynamic of Chanell Bell’s feisty and energetic Olivia and the charisma and bravado of Al’Jaleel McGhee’s Charles. Their natural ease and chemistry, particularly in the more comedic and lighthearted moments, was refreshing, cheerfully balancing the delights of domestic life against the literally exploding world outside of their cozy kitchen. Soon we realized that there were also ticking bombs and landmines to be found hidden throughout their relationship and home. As secrets were revealed and confessions made, the laminated veneer of their relationship was peeled away to reveal their true aggressive and destructive natures.
“Fireflies,” the second in the trilogy of The Love* Plays by Donja R. Love, focuses on the marriage of Olivia and Charles Grace and their roles, both in society and within their relationship. He, a celebrated reverend, speaks for the people during the Civil Rights movement, and she, a “lady-like” homemaker, is also Charles’s voice, as Olivia is his inspired speechwriter. When the couple starts to challenge the integrity of the parts that each is playing, the humor that kept the destructive flames of their secrets at bay is snuffed out, and they begin to burn down everything that they’d built together.
Director Mikael Burke stages the piece in two worlds—shared scenes and audience direct address—highlighting the moods and tensions balanced between the duo, while also giving the audience a direct window into the mind of each character. Regrettably, the piece does start to sputter to a close when the audience is presented with what feels like three possible endings. The final three scenes heighten to dramatic conclusion, only to restart the narrative again; leaving nothing to the imagination, no questions left unanswered. If only life were that tidy.
Scott Penner’s stylized kitchen set thrusts towards the audience with a forced perspective, much like a painting, emphasizing the parallel of art mirroring life and much like the emerging themes of “Fireflies.” The costumes by Gregory Graham are darling and accented, without feeling like period pieces. Eric Watkins lights magically transport us from kitchen-to-porch with gentle, shadow-like, shifts. Similarly, sound designer Christie Chiles Twillie helps accent locations with subtle sounds of crickets and idling cars, while also, combined with Graham’s wall of flash bulbs, dropping bombs of an erupting force.
“Fireflies” genuinely presents the domestic power stereotypes that continue to plague us throughout our society and relationships today. We strive to be true to ourselves, while attempting to give fully to the ideals that we love and the roles to which we are committed. Coupled with the very real civil unrest currently blazing across our country, “Fireflies” forces us to face those struggles in the shocking reflection of Olivia and Charles. In a way, we are all living in a powder keg.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com
PHOTO|Michael Brosilow
NORTHLIGHT THEATRE
Presents
FIREFLIES
through February 20, 2022
9501 Skokie Blvd
WEBSITE
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(847) 673-6300
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