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Slipping
By Daniel Talbott
Produced by The Side Project
1439 W Jarvis
Chicago, IL
Tickets: 773-973-2150 or www.thesideproject.net, $15
Sun at 4:30 p.m., Mon-Tues at 7:30 p.m.
Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission
Through April 1, 2008
Slipping Into Darkness: A Troubled Teen’s Disturbing Love
If you lay out the plot line in Daniel Talbott’s Slipping, now in its world premiere at Side Project Theatre, you might be tempted to write it off as just another gay romance. It is not. Slipping takes the audience into the life of Eli (Nate Santana), a teenage lad who is trying to come to grips with his dark attraction to abusive boys, the death of his father, and his own underlying self-destructiveness. The play is a triumph because it presents no soft answers and no clich. Theatergoers are left to form their own opinions as to what drives Eli’s behavior, how it all got started, and how it will end.
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Slipping is driven by strong characters and director Adam Webster is fortunate to have found a trio of young actors who are able to carry off the teenaged roles.Nate Santana delivers one of the most nuanced performances from a young actor that I have seen in a long time. His portrayal of Eli has uncanny balance as he sorts through the humor, sadness, anger, and tenderness of the troubled, but thoroughly likeable teen’s psyche. Adrian Gonzalez, as Eli’s creepy dark attraction Chris, and Daniel Caffrey, as the innocent and nerdy good guy Jake, give credible performances as well. Rose Buckner rounds out the fine cast as Eli’s mom Jan, but it is the talented Mr. Santana who carries the show.
Side Project Theatre continues to impress me with its selection of original work and its ability to attract sufficient talent to mount it. If you have seen one of the world or regional premieres that the company is noted for you know that their space is tiny and even uncomfortable at times, but for aficionados of artistic theatre in small black-box settings this is one of the most interesting theatre companies in town. Slipping relies on a series of brief scenes in close to a dozen different locations, so actors are forced to move some props around the confined space. My tolerance for this sort of staging is admittedly low, but this production is so quick and the actors are so smooth with it that I didn’t mind. Director Adam Webster deserves a lot of credit for the smoothness of the transitions. Joe Anello’s amusing sound design and Jeremy Getz’s lighting do their part as well.
Slipping is not a highly polished, big budget production. It is a very good play with a quality cast and one tour de force performance in the young lead. In terms of overt sexual activity it is tame, but there is a healthy dose of nudity and those troubled by the sight of penises up close are warned off. For me Slipping is reminiscent of the kind of theatre that used to be so abundant in Greenwich Village before it was too expensive to take any chances there. I personally loved this show and think that theatergoers who crave original and creative work in spaces where the actors reign supreme will as well. If that’s you, then Side Project’s Slipping is as good as it gets.
Highly Recommended
Randy Hardwick
randyontheglobe@yahoo.com for comments
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2008
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