GO ON AND BITE INTO THIS DONUT–
YOU’VE EARNED IT

It must have been quite a shock to Tracy Letts fans when Superior Donuts premiered at Steppenwolf in 2008. Chicago Theatre’s favorite adopted son had been coming off a streak of intense, gripping dramas, with his most recent one, August, Osage County, cleaning up at the Tonys and getting Letts a well-deserved Pulitzer to boot—my favorite of his plays is still Bug; what can I say, I’m a sucker for deeply unsettling examinations of delusional parasitosis and shared psychoses—but for anyone expecting more of the same, Superior Donuts turned out to be Letts in a radically different space; not a left turn so much as a pause for breath; a palate cleanser even.

Reid Coker, Michael Baylor, John WehrmanKristin Collins, Scott Westerman

The Artistic Home’s production of Superior Donuts is presented at the Den Theatre in Wicker Park. The set by Kevin Hagan is a standard issue donut shop in Uptown, going to seed, and the audience, split into two and facing each other on either side of the actors, is dropped into the immediate aftermath of some vandalism. An excitable Russian immigrant, Max Tarasov (Reid Coker, very funny, iffy accent) is giving testimony, interspersed with racial rants, to a pair of police officers, one black and male, one white and female, who listen with the exhausted patience that comes with familiarity. In comes the owner, Arthur Przybyszewski, an aging hippie of Polish extraction, who sees the damage, shrugs, and goes about cleaning it up.

John N. Williams, Scott Westerman

The various ethnicities of the characters are important. Later we’ll be introduced to a Southside bookie and his henchman, both of Irish extraction. This is a play that’s trying to replicate a very specific dynamic mostly found in the middle-class neighborhoods of the far North side in Chicago, the part of the city where it turns into a true melting pot. The plot, such as it is, is simple: Arthur is in stasis. His shop is failing. His reaction to the flirtations from the female police officer (Kristin Collins, lovely, understated, very funny) is stupefied confusion. His wife has divorced him and fled to the East Coast with his daughter, whom he hasn’t seen since. When the play begins, he’s been informed that his wife has passed away. And still, he cannot rouse himself.

Scott Westerman, John N. Williams

Into this hermetic existence comes a whirlwind in the form of Franco Wicks, a young black man who has just finished writing what he thinks is the Great American Novel, and needs a job. Franco sweet talks his way into becoming Arthur’s assistant and proceeds to become the agent of chaos that will drive the action for the next two hours.

John N. Williams, Scott Westerman

Let’s get this out of the way: the adjective “sitcom-ish”, or similar, has often been used against Superior Donuts. It’s true—not for nothing was the play subsequently adapted into a sitcom—but I don’t think it should be considered a pejorative here. As I’ve said before, the formula exists for a reason. The supporting characters are stock characters but the dialog is so well written and the actors playing them are wonderful and it all just sings. Even the “big scary” bookie (Adam Schulmerich, delightful; flawless Southside accent) is so goddamn charming. All the characters are crafted with considerable affection. Letts has occasionally been accused (not unfairly) of contempt towards his characters but that is so not the case here.

Kevin Aoussou, Kristin Collins

Artistic Home has acquired a terrific cast here. Scott Westerman is great as Arthur. His deadpan laissez-faire wrings laughs from lines that have no business being funny and his brief soliloquies are powerfully moving. As Franco, John N. Williams has a tougher job, given that his character isn’t as well drawn and his subplot, the most Lettsian moment in the script, is forced and unnecessarily cruel, but he simply overwhelms it with energy and charm.

Kristin Collins, Kevin Aoussou, Reid Coker

It’s been nearly two decades since Superior Donuts premiered and I’m more than a little surprised at how well it’s aged, flaws and all. Also, I wonder about its influence all over Lee Kirk’s so-so script for Ashland Avenue at the Goodman; watching it so soon after the latter, the parallels are inescapable.

Scott Westerman, John N. Williams

And I will conclude by saying that the (near) climactic fight sequence in the play is quite possibly the funniest thing I have seen on stage this year. David Blixt (Violence Design) please stand up and take a bow. I was doubled over with laughter, notepad and pen flying off my lap, and I was neither the only audience member nor the only critic in that state. On the basis of that scene alone, which went on for ages, and yet was far too short, this production would get a glowing review.

Sure, this isn’t a substantial show, but superior donuts don’t need to be substantial. Not when they’re this satisfying.

Reid Coker, Barbara Roeder Harris
Reid Coker, John Wehrman

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photos by Joe Mazza/Brave Lux

Superior Donuts
The Artistic Home
The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave.
ends on December 6, 2025
for tickets, call 773.697.3830 or visit Artistic Home

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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