January 14, 2011|By Kerry Reid, special to the Tribune
Chaos and ruin take center stage in Halcyon Theatre's "Trickster," created by artistic director Tony Adams from a variety of sources, including the Native American tales of Coyote and the biblical story of Abraham, Sarah and Hajar. There are also resonances with "The Trojan Women" in its depiction of how the civilian price of war is often paid most heavily by wives and mothers.
It's an ambitious undertaking that fails to coalesce in the end, but as a meditation on an age of "pox and paranoia," there is palpable intelligence, wit, and moral conscience at work in the material. At nearly three hours, however, it feels more padded than pointed — overflowing with stories-within-stories that become difficult to track.
Coyote (Scott Allen Luke) was supposed to clear out all the monsters in the world, but he's been transformed into a rock for 500 years, hiding from the family of a swan he has seduced. Now he's back and ready for mischief — but the Earth has become a dark and dangerous place, ruled by the vengeful and rapacious Wolf (Rafael Franco). As the human males try to fight back against Wolf and his soldiers (the desert landscape crawling with mercenaries recalls the current brutality of the drug trade in Mexico), the women confront their own demons. Jenn Adams' infertile Sarah encourages Abe (Kamal Hans) to impregnate Johanna Middleton's Hajar so they can have a child, but Hajar isn't willing to give up the baby — a commentary, perhaps, on privileged Americans adopting from Third World nations.
If Tony Adams (who also directs) can find a way to prune the many extraneous narrative tendrils in the piece, it could still blossom as a sly reimagining of ancient legends for an age of contemporary discontent and fear.
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When: Through Feb. 6
Where: Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $18-$20 at 773-404-7336 or greenhousetheater.com