The hero’s deed was extraordinary—or so it seems. Many years earlier, a woman was sitting in a car stalled on a country lane, with a truck barreling toward her. A neighbor, Chuck Benton (Danny Goldring), ran from his house, stopped the truck with his bare hands, overturned it, and saved the life of the woman. The man became not just a local hero—or superhero—but due to the press, a national one. He was even hired by a bank to be their spokesperson.
Now Chuck owns a beauty salon by day, a saloon by night. (Most of the superheroes in our memories had two identities, didn't they?). Chuck and his son, Rhett (Peter DeFaria) who is the best beautician around, are faced with losing the business because a stranger, Sunshine Merritt (Wendi Weber, who always seems to play roles with no-smile personalities), comes to prove Chuck a fraud. She tells them that the pension Chuck has been getting from the bank is now being canceled, unless of course Chuck can show her some of his superpowers.
Janoff’s script leaves us with deeper questions: Do we learn about villains in this play? Is our hero a villain? Is he, in fact, a hero? Was the deed he was supposed to have performed worthy of being worshiped and adored? Did what he do restore the community? Were lives changed because of his deed?
Janoff's script is a bit slow in Act I but does a great turnaround in the second act. As the story progresses, we get a love story as well as a mystery. It is billed as a romantic comedy, but the comedy is not noticeable until the second act. This script could be trimmed to a 90-minute production (without an intermission) to tighten up the first act.
But Director Anthony Moseley has put together a strong cast. Even the smaller roles, the ensemble players, work well—Len Bajenski, Amy Speckien, Marjorie Armstrong, Shannon Hoag, and Cassandra Sanders. In addition, Tracy Otwell's set is very practical. The lighting by Jeremy Getz and the music by Charles Kim are very effective.
Heroes and Villians
The Theatre Building Chicago
1225 West Belmont
Tickets: 773-327-5252 or www.theatrebuilding.org
Information: www.collaboraction.org
Closes: Sept. 21
Alan Bresloff writes about theater in and around Chicago.
