PicksInSix Review: Black Sunday - TimeLine Theatre Company
‘BLACK SUNDAY’ – A Captivating Cautionary Tale
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy
TimeLine Theatre Company’s world premiere production of “Black Sunday” written by Chicago playwright Dolores Díaz and directed by Helen Young, is a gripping drama about life in the harrowing days leading up to Sunday, April 14, 1935, when a dust bowl of epic proportions consumed the plains states with a devastating impact that reverberated across the nation.
TimeLine’s “Black Sunday” begins with a stunning cinematic prologue that traces the ecological impact of two decades of homesteading that initially reaped the rewards of the fertile prairie land but would ultimately disrupt and destroy the natural balance of the ecosystem. Drought and an increase in the jackrabbit population led to crop failure as coyotes preyed on farm animals created a perfect storm of destruction for the once promising frontier.
In the midst of this decaying situation, homesteaders who had flocked to the west with hope of starting a new life now faced a daily battle for survival. For one family—Pa (David Parkes), Ma (Michelle Moe) and Sunny (Angela Morris)— the heightened anxiety of living in squalor and fear as the impending winds blow all around them is palpable. Pa is a defiant settler, angry and unhinged but determined to keep his family together at all costs, even in the face of life and death. Ma is increasingly haunted by visions of the future, images and dreams that manifest themselves in a crude series of drawings that could hold the key to what is to come. Sunny has known only despair and isolation in her young life and now aspires to find any way to escape the hopelessness that she feels for her situation and the ruthless nature of her father’s control over the situation.
Díaz weaves into this family drama Jesύs (Christopher Alvarenga), a Mexican migrant worker who had hoped to start a new life for his family in California and Jim (Vic Kuligoski) a minister who has attracted the attention of Sunny over her mother’s protective objections. As the days click down on this intense drama and the gritty tension of the pending storm reaches a fever pitch, emotions flare and a stunning twist is realized.
“Black Sunday” is both a brilliant historical retrospective and a captivating cautionary tale for our time about the impact of climate change on our resources. The work also shines a light on the migrant workers story of the era and comes at a time when that story is being told to a new generation. Moreover, it stands as a powerful statement—then and now—about our personal responsibility to the environment and as stewards to our resources for future generations.
And “Black Sunday” steps in line as the final production in the 25-year succession of TimeLine’s rich dramatic storytelling in their Wellington location. Over the course of the next season, TimeLine Theatre Company will produce shows in association with Court Theatre, DePaul University’s Cortelyou Commons and Writers Theatre as plans for a new home in Uptown take shape for one of Chicago’s most revered professional theatres.
PHOTO|Liz Lauren
TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY
presents
World Premiere
BLACK SUNDAY
615 W. Wellington Avenue
through June 29
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