AN EXTREMELY HEAVY PORTRAYAL
OF ABUSE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
It’s no secret that the Catholic Church has a sordid history of covering up sexual abuse, and many have made art on this topic to keep it in the spotlight (pun intended, as the 2015 film Spotlight is an excellent example). This is the first time, though, that I have encountered a story that puts the victims front and center. The world premiere of Happy Days Are Here (Again) by Omer Abbas Salem by Steep Theatre at Steppenwolf makes an admirable attempt at voicing the children’s experience but comes across a little disjointed and emotionally exhausting.
Katie Incardona, Ashlyn Lozano
Eric Lindahl, Yourtana Sulaiman, John Zhou Duncan
The play opens with a musical number (one of just a few in what is otherwise a play) on the playground at St. Boniface Catholic high school in 1979 on the first day of school. A new student, Hamed (Oliver Malaaf), has been sent from Palestine to live with his uncle. There is one more newcomer, Father Brian (Gage Wallage), who evidently has a sordid history because one student is quickly pulled out by his mother when she learns of Father Brian’s arrival.
Alex Gillmor, Eric Lindahl, Patricia Donegan
Gage Wallace, Oliver Maalouf
It’s immediately very clear that something bad is happening to these students. An incessant intercom (voiced by Cindy Marker) calls students one by one to the rear rectory (for “confession” with Father Patrick) or Father Brian’s office (for “private spiritual advising”). There’s not much left unsaid. We know what’s happening here, more or less, from the start, which leaves the tension in this play a little lax, even as new depths of this evil are revealed.
Maya Hlava, Jocelyn Zamudio
Alex Gillmor, Gage Wallace
Learning what each of these children (all played by adults) are going through scene by gut-churning scene makes the 2-hour and 15-minute play unrelenting. I would definitely recommend checking the content advisory before attending and reaching out to Steep for more specific trigger warnings if you need them. This is not an easy play.
Ashlyn Lozano, Katie Incardona
Maya Hlava
Aside from the very heavy subject matter, the play seems a little unfinished. The seven children, Polly, Karoline, Gill, Andy, Hamed, Scott, and Stella, could use more differentiation. They’re a little hard to keep straight. Though Polly, at first, seemed to be set up as the protagonist, her story was usurped by Hamed’s, interrupted by Sister Edith’s, and so on. This large cast of characters are fighting for time to tell their stories. I think the play would benefit from trimming a few.
Oliver Maalouf, Ashlyn Lozano
Patrich Lindahl, Gage Wallace, Patricia Donegan
The cast does a wonderful job with these deeply traumatized characters. I saw understudy Hallie Snowday as Polly, and she gives a tough and touching performance. Maya Hlava brings a believable youthfulness and naïveté to Polly’s younger sister, Karoline. I was most moved by Carter Shimp’s performance as Scott in a scene in which he, the cool and fun football player, finds himself feeling small and confused and in need of his girlfriend Stella’s (Jocelyn Zamudio) support.
Jocelyn Zamudio, Carter Shimp
Carter Shimp, Maya Hlava
This play, while full of excellent artistry, left me unsatisfied. I want to feel like there could be hope for these characters, even if that hope is crushed in the end. As it is, things at St. Boniface feel hopeless from the beginning. All the horror in the play is sitting right there on the surface, leaving the audience very little to dig for underneath. I want more to dig for.
Katie Incardona, Gage Wallace, Eric Lindahl
Gage Wallace
photos by Joseph Chretien-Golden
Ashlyn Lozano, Rich Adrian Lazatin
Carter Shimp, Yourtana Sulaiman
Happy Days Are Here (Again)
Steep Theatre
Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N Halsted
2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
Thurs-Sat at 8; Sun at 3:30
ends on October 27, 2024
for tickets ($10-$40), call 312.335.1650 or visit Steppenwolf
