Superior Donuts
So if you are playwright Tracy Letts and your last drama for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, "August: Osage County," has just won you a Pulitzer Prize. Five Tony Awards, and been named best play of 2007 by "Time" magazine, what do you do for an encore?
You come right back with the beautifully written, moving Chicago story, "Superior Donuts," which is beginning a run on Steppenwolf’s main stage. Where "August: Osage County" was a big-scale, multi-generational saga, "Superior Donuts" is drawn in smaller scale.
Set in contemporary Uptown, "Superior Donuts" tells the story of the emotional transformation of middle-aged donut shop owner Arthur Przybyszewski. From an unhappy, numbed-out, don’t-rock-the-boat proprietor of a moribund donut shop on the fringe of redevelopment, Arthur, for once in his sorry life, stands up for something, for someone.
When the energetic, optimistic young African-American assistant he hires runs into serious thuggery over gambling debts, Arthur rouses himself from a life spent avoiding life and decides he’s not going to take it any more. Without revealing too much, I can say clearly that the result is spellbinding theater.
It’s not for nothing that Steppenwolf Theatre is renowned. This is a top-notch drama with strong comedic overtones. The set, by Loy Arcenas, is the counter room in the donut shop. It’s so funky you can nearly smell the deep fryer. The costumes by Ana Kuzmanic are spot on. Or maybe "spotted on" in their grungy-jeans authenticity. Tina Landau’s direction in conjunction with Christopher Akerlind’s lighting design allows for the story to move along briskly while carving out moments of quiet intimacy. The cast of nine, headed by Michael McKean and Jon Michael Hill is flawless.
Best of all is Letts’ wonderful script. Chock full of timely and site-specific Chicago references, the dialog is tight, sharp and full of the rhythms and pacings of Chicago’s immigrant past and present. One of the things I really like about this play is that Letts not only has the sounds of Chicago speech down, but he spreads around the good lines to all his characters. He is an equal-opportunity hot-air balloon puncturer.
Steppenwolf’s 2007-2008 season is centered around the theme "What does it mean to be an American?" This world premier of Letts’ play is one fine answer to the question.
"Superior Donuts" runs at the Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted, through August 17, with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday/Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Tickets are priced between $20 and $68. 312-335-1650 or www.steppenwolf.org.
