Michael Brosilow
How do we deal with our past when it forms and shapes us for the life to come? And can we somehow “escape” from our experiences or just accept the inevitable circumstances of our surroundings?
Those questions get raised in David Lindsay-Abaire’s very fine play, Good People, which opened at Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Quadracci Powerhouse last weekend. And like much in life, there are no easy answers here. It becomes a matter of coping, surviving and, for some, even thriving.
That’s the situation for Margie (hard “g,” like her life) from South Boston, a “Southie” from a tough working-class neighborhood who has stayed and worked a number of dead-end jobs after dropping out of high school. Margie’s entire life has been devoted to caring for her developmentally disabled daughter, paycheck to paycheck. And when she loses her job, desperation sets in. She looks up an old boyfriend, now a successful doctor, and the past collides with the present as secrets push forward.
Lindsay-Abaire is a master at character development and with a solid acting ensemble such as this one, Good People conveys a slice of everyday life brimming over with a range of emotions, love to laughter, anger to empathy. It’s easy to forget we’re watching a play (much like The Rep’s excellent 2013 production of A Raisin in the Sun) and instead, listening in on real life people struggling to live and make sense of their lives.
In a role tailored for her, Laura Gordon is the heart and soul of Good People, reaching a new zenith in her acting career as a woman wronged by life yet courageous enough to hope for better. It is a performance to watch, a lesson in restraint that implies so much more beneath Margie’s tough yet vulnerable exterior.
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The rest of the cast is just as good in supporting roles: Laura T. Fisher (Dottie) and especially Tami Workentin (in a splendid Powerhouse debut) as the tough-talking, scheming Jean. As Margie’s young boss, Stevie, Bernard Balbot is equal parts insecure supervisor and gentle man. Michael Elich (ex-boyfriend, Mike) excels at slowly peeling back the layers on this “former Southie.” One to keep an eye on in future Rep performances is intern Jennifer Latimore as Mike’s wife, Kate. Latimore takes full command of the stage in her supporting role as the privileged wife.
Kudos to Kate Buckley for her (seemingly effortless) powerful direction. These are people simply trying hard to be good (from their own perspectives) and do the right thing. Just like us.
Through Feb. 15 at The Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Quadracci Powerhouse, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-224-9490 or visit milwaukeerep.com.
