The conclusion that Open Space Arts productions are about the complex navigations of the human heart makes sense with regards to both the company’s artistry and the level of immersion they draw from their physical space. Their 25-seat house offers a truly intimate experience, bringing you so completely into the romantic triumphs and travails of the characters that the audience and performers almost become one.
This is especially true of their current, warmly induced take on Michael McKeever’s Mr. Parker, a 2019 Off-Broadway success which is receiving its Chicago premiere here.
Seven months after the death of his lover, a celebrated photographer, Terrence Parker (Andrew Kain Miller) is trying to move on but still finds himself in a grief-ridden stasis. A drunken one-night stand with an energetic twentysomething named Justin (Riley Capp) provides him some awkward forward momentum though.
Taking Justin’s advice, Terrence throws himself a disastrous 54th birthday party. That singular trauma compounds when Cassandra (Mary Anne Bowman), his sister-in-law, begins to pressure him to finally make arrangements for a retrospective honoring his dead partner’s work. But will escaping into the whirlwind arms of Justin, whose Gen-X ideals include no long-term commitments, provide him a new pathway or just more heartache and destruction?
As a playwright, McKeever perfectly captures his creations. Anyone who came of age in the art scene in the late ’80s and early ’90s can practically feel Klaus Nomi stepping into angel bright light when Cassandra and Terrence speak of that era. He also smartly, and without judgement, recognizes the amazing beauty in our current queer generations’ paths of freedom and joy through Justin’s conversations with Terrence. It’s powerful work.
His words are embraced, fully, through director David Zak’s nuanced shaping of the show’s fine cast. In the title role, Miller conveys all of Terrence’s regret and sorrow. He is equally capable of expressing his joy and happiness when attempting a new relationship with Justin. Even more importantly, Miller is especially skillful about differentiating the character’s happiness between finding his sexuality again and in ultimately finding a new way to live his life.
As Justin, Capp demonstrates with a delightful sense of presence and a joy of exploration. This sense of scrutiny only deepens and widens as the story progresses, allowing the audience to watch a young man truly bloom and start to grow.
Bowman, a Chicago stage veteran, meanwhile creates a delicious feast out of the sometimes catty, occasionally underhanded, always heartfelt Cassandra. Decadently costumed by the very creative Benjamin Mills, Bowman looks and acts (in the best way possible) like she just walked off the set of Days of our Lives. Sharing several powerful scenes with both Miller and Capp, she practically walks away with the show—proving that, just like Open Space Arts, might can often come from the most unexpected places.
Mr. Parker runs through February 16th at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Avenue. More information is available at http://www.openspacearts.org.