Set, David Zinn costumes, Ana Kuzmanic lighting, Brian MacDevitt sound, Andre Pluess choreography, Dexter Bullard vocal coach, Gigi Buffington stage manager, Christine D. Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago 510 seats $105 topĪ Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of a play in one act by Tracy Letts. In a world where Trump becomes president, the truth of “The Minutes” is laid bare: winning means controlling the underlying myths that govern our community interactions, while losing means oblivion.Ĭhicago Theater Review: ‘The Minutes’ by Tracy Letts And yet … this play doesn’t just fit the moment, it goes a certain way toward explaining in human - if not pleasant - terms, why when certain stories are exposed as distortions or even blatant untruths, they are only told more forcefully. The President goes unmentioned the play would exist had he not been elected (the first draft was completed shortly after the election). With his new play The Minutes, a simmering satire of a small-town city council meeting that evolves or devolves into something of a horror tale, Pulitzer-winning playwright Tracy Letts.
Peel peels away at the story, using his knowledge of obscure bureaucratic notation to pry loose the events of the previous week, which involves a larger history, which as we learn, is not about truth but power.Īnd this, in the end, is how Letts manages to make this play all about Trumpism without being the slightest bit about Trump. Johnson (Brittany Burch).įollowing his conscience, and his function, Mr. Peel looks for the minutes to fill him in on what occurred the week before, they are nowhere to be found, apparently not “prepared for distribution,” despite the sure-footed competence of the carefully quiet council clerk Ms. Carp (played in flashback by Ian Barford) suddenly lost his Council seat.
He missed the previous meeting when his mother passed away, leading to a barrage of condolences but not much information on why another member of the council, Mr. Peel (Cliff Chamberlain) is the Jimmy Stewart figure of the story, a clean-scrubbed, new-to-town, and recently elected member who felt called to public service with the birth of his daughter. Breeding (Kevin Anderson), the not politically correct, loud laugher who simply doesn’t understand why “normal people” should spend any money on things such as providing the disabled with access to enjoy the city’s fountain.Īs is often the case, the outsider is our way into this world.
Blake (James Vincent Meredith), a non-ideological African-American with alcohol on his breath and an idea to enliven the town’s beloved harvest festival with cage fighting (and, somehow, Abe Lincoln) and Mr. Oldfield (Francis Guinan), the longest-serving and frequently befuddled council member for the city of Big Cherry Mr. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.The cast of characters represents a humorously unflattering view of small-time civics in the rainy, unquestionably middle American small town of Big Cherry. Leaders of the production team include Jeffrey Richards and Steve Traxler. Letts’ play “Linda Vista” will also hit the stage with previews set for Sept. Letts is a Tony award-winning actor for his role in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and is currently on Broadway for “All My Sons,” also starring Annette Bening and Benjamin Walker. The play also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama the same year.
Shapiro and Letts worked together on Letts’ “August: Osage County,” for which Shapiro won the Tony Award for best direction of a play in 2008. Shapiro, who helmed the premiere production of the play at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Ill. Known for his keen ability to illustrate the faults and cracks under humanity's surface, Letts delivers an acutely thrilling new work. Shapiro to DirectĪt 90 minutes long, the play will include a cast of 11 actors. Beneath the deadpan back-and-forth of a seemingly typical city council board meeting lies the whiff of something distinctly sinister in Tracy Letts's new play The Minutes. 'The Devil Wears Prada' Musical Taps Anna D. Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts Join 'French Exit' Comedyīroadway Review: 'All My Sons' With Annette Bening