Thinner Than Water
Three well-introduced half siblings are brought together after that father’s deteriorating illness. Renee (Lynda Newton) is the oldest sibling married with kids. The middle sibling is Gary (Michael Patrick Thornton), a stoner who works in a comic book store that he is satisfied doing so. The youngest is Cassie (Brittany Burch) who is struggling with committing herself to anything. The three embark on a present day, family, comedy/drama. After recently getting calls from their father’s girlfriend, Gwen (Donna McGough), the siblings meet to cope the situation at hand. Renee, the seeming reliable one, does an outstanding job of being the aggressive mother. Gary receives a lot of fuss about living with his mother and working at a comic store, but his strong character allows him to stick up for himself. Recently brokenhearted, Cassie joins in with nothing, down on her life, with nothing else left to give. The three well-written characters must dig deep to enhance what it means to be family and to receive their own type of happiness along the way.
Scenic Designer, Joe Schermoly, did an effective job releasing the mood of the show. The rainy set provided the tone of the show early on. Along with slow, instrumental music in between scene changes, deep emotions were created. Some overly written scenes slowed the pacing of the show. The 2 hour and 10 minute runtime felt a bit long towards the end. Fowl language was also a bit overused. If cussing were to be taken out of some scenes, the same emotion would be felt, if not deeper. The character development was clear but sometimes cussing interfered with the emotion of the scenes. Screaming and cussing in the middle of a hospital waiting room seemed a bit too unrealistic..The three siblings have to come to terms with their situation and find their own type of closure. Melissa Ross’ compelling story drove these characters to finally grow up and deal with what family has to offer. Their performances will leave you relating to each characters, rooting for certain ones, and hating others. Thinner That Water presents a story with actors that inhabit their roles rendering messages that we can relate towards. I was particularly impressed by Thornton’s monologue about Renee being ‘the real bitch.
Matt Koske
Date Reviewed: April 5th, 2014
4802 N. Milwaukee Avenue Chicago, IL., (773) 283-7071, tickets $20-$35, Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. running time is 2 hours and 10 minutes with 15 minute intermission, through May 25th, 2014.