Theater Review: New Play ‘SunChoke’ is a Dereliction of Beauty

CHICAGO – “Beautiful,” I said to Josh Arteaga, the playwright of “SunChoke,” after experiencing his post-apocalyptic narrative at the Raven Theater. Why that particular word would come out of such dread is emblematic of the entirety.

Play Rating: 4.0/5.0

SunChoke contains many moments of spoken and expository beauty in it, despite the focus on the loss of humanity during a plague. Arteaga’s idea of creating a parallel universe next to the desperation both heightens the anguish and provides dark reasoning behind the reality.

’SunChoke’ runs through October 18th at the Raven Theater, Chicago, IL Photo credit: Rodez Productions

The play is about three survivors of a massive plague that has effected cities throughout the countryside. Eli, Isaiah and Ruth have escaped to an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of the disaster, but have absolutely no food once they get there. This situation is putting a tentative grasp on their sanity and relationships, and will also determine who or what will ultimately catch up to them.

Meanwhile, on another parallel existence, an old man is reciting images of his childhood, or his former self. He plays host to a “Shape,” another form that exists outside the realm of the plague. The Shape desires its former self, which has a connection within the now decimated circumstance of the three survivors.

The Shape manufactures a representative to influence the survivor’s motivations. What transpires as a result of this manipulation frames the consequences.

The first impression of the apocalypse in SunChoke is how close it may be. The three survivors are normal twentysomethings, plucked from a sports bar or any electronic screen distraction. They speak lovingly about the fast food dollar menu, even though that was killing them just as acutely as the potential plague.

The parallel plane is jarring. In David Buckbee’s set design, the old man looms over the proceedings by seemingly sitting on top of the farmhouse’s kitchen cabinets, and is bathed with light as new truths are revealed. Chris Daley’s portrayal of the man is stunningly accurate. His presence is constant, and his monologues about a past that may or may not have taken place are chilling in their…yes…beauty.

Defying him is the Shape, even though it has been adopted by him. Again nostalgia plays into the desire for the Shape to return to a former life, and Virginia Marie interprets the utter torment in the character with clarity and purpose.

Less successful is the mode of the survivors. More dirt and desperation seemed necessary for the three characters, as their actions and thought processes become more grim. There was a disconnect to the abject fear within the scenario, even when an amazing character named Win (Danny Starr) begins to carry out the Shape’s final solution.

Josh Arteaga has formulated an end-of-the-world perspective that is rich in invention, symbolism and familiarity. And he has wrapped it in a angle that has plausibility. What is religion, after all, than the hope for a parallel time/place, with protective entities as our overseers? But in Artega’s more enlightened view of this parallelism, it is this spiritual destiny that is not the place we want to be.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com