Steep Theatre's Harper Regan: Formerly Sold-Out, Recently Extended, Consistently Great

By Julienne Bilker in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 1, 2010 10:30PM

photo of Kendra Thulin and Caroline Neff by Lee Miller

In the first scene of Steep Theatre's Harper Regan, which takes place in England, the title character asks her boss for time off to go visit her dying father. He says no, and proceeds to wax philosophical / nonsensical about irrelevant things, occasionally pausing to ask Harper a question. Though she has little to say in these opening moments, apart from, “I don’t know,” she exudes an incredibly palpable heartbreak. We were transfixed by her, even while her boss spewed a canon of amusing non sequiturs, such as, “Humans are the only animal that runs for pleasure. Humans are the only animal that invented the internet.” When a show is this captivating right off the bat, you know you’re in for something good.

For reasons not exposed until much further into the play, Harper’s husband, Seth, can’t work. Their teenage daughter, Sarah, has just begun college. Harper clearly can’t afford to get herself fired, a consequence she is sure to face if she goes anyway. But she goes anyway, without warning her daughter, husband, or certainly her boss. In a trance-like state of existence without presence, Harper doesn’t even bother to pack a bag.

Harper’s too-late arrival is completely deflating - until a small but violent act wakes her up. She launches into desperate attempts to simultaneously jump out of her own skin and reconcile her feelings with hard truths about her family and herself.

The beauty of this play lies in the fact that Harper could be anyone. Sometimes people surprise themselves when they reflect on who they’ve become, or who they think they’ve become. Regrets can be poisonous. Playwright Simon Stephen’s perspicacious writing let those ideas float above and around us without hitting us over the head. Nothing feels artificial about this show (except for one character’s raging anti-Semitism, a trait that added nothing to the story and was temporarily distracting) - it almost falls into the tragicomedy category, but Harper’s journey, although ultimately redemptive, is so gut-wrenching at times, we don’t think that label quite fits.

This play would not be successful if Kendra Thulin (Harper) didn’t deliver a brilliant performance. And she does. Thulin is understated, seemingly calm while on the brink of exploding, and when her complex emotions surface, you feel it. And on a technical note, her accent is perfect. There are several other great performances - Dan Flannery’s portrayal of James, an older man Harper meets through his personal ad, simultaneously evokes comfort and incredible sadness. Peter Moore (Seth) is elegantly subtle, and somehow light despite his character’s circumstances. A goth teenager who never removes her ear-buds is a role many would overplay, but Caroline Neff (Sarah), is spot-on, allowing her vulnerability to shine through without ever falling prey to the stereotypical. We also particularly enjoyed work from Curtis M. Jackson and Brendan Melanson. A few of the actors have some accent problems, but overall, this ensemble does a fantastic job. Director Robin Witt has created something great.

Harper Regan was sold-out for its entire run before we even saw it, but luckily it has been extended through March 28th. But that doesn’t mean you should wait to buy tickets - Steep Theatre’s new space might be bigger than its last, but it’s still small.

Harper Regan, through March 28th, Steep Theatre Company, 1115 W Berwyn, , tickets are $22.