it was weird that i had never seen this play, since it was so much a part of the collective artistic consciousness of the chicago theatre community. but you know how it goes…there are plays you keep meaning to see, and meaning ot see, and your friends talk about how good they are so you think, “i should definitely see that one,” but when you spend all day devoted to the creation of theatre, and it’s summer in chicago and the evenings are warm and beautiful, it’s really hard to get around to seeing a play. then it’s closing week and neither love nor money nor calling up the production manager will get you a ticket. so i missed August, and off it went to Broadway, and London, and eventually out on tour, and it put Chicago theatre a little bit more on the national map.

so anyway, a free ticket came my way to see the tour, so I went on Tuesday. and it. was. amazing. i know i just wrote in my Equivocation review how i had no interest in kitchen sink drama. and this is, dangerously, close to being kitchen sink american family drama. (this was, in fact, a kitchen with sink on stage). but this was such a sweeping, excellently crafted piece. and the design was elegant, and the acting really tremendous, but at the end when i jumped out of my seat at curtain call, it was, for the second time this week, for the play. good plays are being written in this country right now. i just hope we can find ways to support the people who are writing them and producing them. (insert plug for the National New Plays Network here)