l-r Kate Arrington, Keith Kupferer p: Michael Brosilow
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l-r David Pasquesi, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Paul Oakley Stovall p: Michael Brosilow
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l-r Greg Stuhr, Karen Aldridge
Theater Review
July 16, 2014
The Qualms
by Betty Mohr
It’s all about sex, but it’s not sexy. Actually, The Qualms, now in a world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, is plodding and dull.
Playwright Bruce Norris, in an interview in the Steppenwolf playbill, admits to wanting to make people feel uncomfortable watching his plays because he believes uncomfortable is dramatic. But in his new work, the discomfort comes, not from shock, but from boredom.
He believes that juvenile and gross references to body parts will have the audience salivating, but it doesn’t. That’s because The Qualms is so smutty adolescent that there is no emotional connection or sexual tension between the characters. They’re all going through the motions of pretending to want sex from each other, but the characters are so emotionless and so wooden that they really seem uninterested in each other—and they’re certainly uninteresting to us.
The play is set (by scenic designer Todd Rosenthal) in an upscale beach house in which Gary (Keith Kupferer) and his wife Teri (Kate Arrington) have invited guests to a party. One by one they arrive. There’s smug Roger (David Pasquesi) and his girlfriend of the moment, Regine (Karen Aldridge), who prances through the party in a lady-of-the-night outfit; Deb (Kirsten Fitzgerald), a widow who partners with bi-sexual Roger (Paul Oakley Stovall); and Chris (Greg Stuhr), a financial consultant, and his not-so-enthralled-with-her-husband wife Kristy (Diane Davis).
Almost everyone in the creepy crew is swapping partners and trying to have casual sex with everyone in front of everyone. The only one who believes that sex should be a spiritual and emotional connection is Chris. At first, he seems to be the only one who seems to have a spark of intelligence. He’s called a conservative because he thinks that “This is about as sexy as watching two dogs in the street.” But, Chris soon wimps out, gives in to peer pressure, and ends up apologizing to the motley group for not wanting to sleep with anyone but his wife.
The play is supposed to be a comedy, but it’s not funny. At 90 minutes with no intermission, the play, directed by Pam MacKinnon, feels torturously like it will never end. The characters drone on and on delivering diatribes that sound like pompous lectures. They’re basically arguing in defense of unthinking animal instincts. Get rid of the mind, they say, the flesh is everything.
Watching The Qualms, I felt embarrassed for the fine actors who are wasted in this production. Many in the audience also looked to be wasted—out of time and money—by this yawner of a show.
The Qualms
When: Through August 31, 2014
Where: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted Street, Chicago
Tickets: $80-$86
Information: Call 312.335.1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org
July 16, 2014
The Qualms
by Betty Mohr
It’s all about sex, but it’s not sexy. Actually, The Qualms, now in a world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, is plodding and dull.
Playwright Bruce Norris, in an interview in the Steppenwolf playbill, admits to wanting to make people feel uncomfortable watching his plays because he believes uncomfortable is dramatic. But in his new work, the discomfort comes, not from shock, but from boredom.
He believes that juvenile and gross references to body parts will have the audience salivating, but it doesn’t. That’s because The Qualms is so smutty adolescent that there is no emotional connection or sexual tension between the characters. They’re all going through the motions of pretending to want sex from each other, but the characters are so emotionless and so wooden that they really seem uninterested in each other—and they’re certainly uninteresting to us.
The play is set (by scenic designer Todd Rosenthal) in an upscale beach house in which Gary (Keith Kupferer) and his wife Teri (Kate Arrington) have invited guests to a party. One by one they arrive. There’s smug Roger (David Pasquesi) and his girlfriend of the moment, Regine (Karen Aldridge), who prances through the party in a lady-of-the-night outfit; Deb (Kirsten Fitzgerald), a widow who partners with bi-sexual Roger (Paul Oakley Stovall); and Chris (Greg Stuhr), a financial consultant, and his not-so-enthralled-with-her-husband wife Kristy (Diane Davis).
Almost everyone in the creepy crew is swapping partners and trying to have casual sex with everyone in front of everyone. The only one who believes that sex should be a spiritual and emotional connection is Chris. At first, he seems to be the only one who seems to have a spark of intelligence. He’s called a conservative because he thinks that “This is about as sexy as watching two dogs in the street.” But, Chris soon wimps out, gives in to peer pressure, and ends up apologizing to the motley group for not wanting to sleep with anyone but his wife.
The play is supposed to be a comedy, but it’s not funny. At 90 minutes with no intermission, the play, directed by Pam MacKinnon, feels torturously like it will never end. The characters drone on and on delivering diatribes that sound like pompous lectures. They’re basically arguing in defense of unthinking animal instincts. Get rid of the mind, they say, the flesh is everything.
Watching The Qualms, I felt embarrassed for the fine actors who are wasted in this production. Many in the audience also looked to be wasted—out of time and money—by this yawner of a show.
The Qualms
When: Through August 31, 2014
Where: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted Street, Chicago
Tickets: $80-$86
Information: Call 312.335.1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org
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