Playwright Traci Godfrey’s opening scene repartee dialogue between Ellie (played by Molly Lyons), the mother of one of those women and that daughter’s one-time boyfriend Alan John (AJ, played by John Wehrman) then goes a long way to communicate this tale will be told with a fun-filled voice. We watch Ellie sneak a drink from her hidden booze bottle in a cowboy boot, and then watch the antics of whether AJ should or shouldn’t tuck his shirt in as they bubble up with joy at the thought that Kate (played by Scottie Caldwell) might be coming to her senses and returning to marry AJ. She is now divorced and reaching that old age of 30 when common sense settles in.
The guffaws and enthusiastic giggles from the audience on opening night were genuine. But this writer guesses that more than a few in the audience might similarly be having a nagging feeling that this script’s jokes wouldn’t play in Texas, or even Peoria. For a blue city in a blue state crowd though, this was a chance to see spirited actors show their stuff- and they do!
Many scenes later, after Ellie has met Kate’s wife Samantha (played by Anita Kavuu-Ng’ang’a) and let out the full throttle of her homophobia and racism both, Kate exclaims, “You are what’s wrong with America!”
From there the story moves on to the kind of happy ending some of us expect only from Hollywood.
Sweet Texas Reckoning is a great fit for Stonewall 50 audiences that want a feel good story that fits the times. If you, like this writer, seek a bit more complexity from characters and story lines, this might not be your top pick show.
SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED
SWEET TEXAS RECKONING
By Traci Godfrey
Directed by Julie Proudfoot
When:
June 7 – 30, 2019
Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm
Where:
The Den Theatre
1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Tickets:
$25.00
For More info and tickets please visit at Artemisia Theatre Website
All photos by Heather Mall
Note: Picture This Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
Amy hopes the magazine’s click-a-picture-to-read-a-vivid-account format will nourish those ever hunting for under-discovered cultural treasures. She especially loves writing articles about travel finds, showcasing works by cultural warriors of a progressive bent, and shining a light on bold, creative strokes by fledgling artists in all genres.
