If you’ve been banging around the Chicago theatrosphere longer than 25 seconds, you know the myth of True West and how Sam Shepard’s bro-ly, brawly mano a mano tale helped the ragtag off-off-Loop Steppenwolf Theatre burst into public consciousness with its 1982 production starring Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, and Francis Guinan.
It’s not that True West isn’t without significant problems. Shepard’s one female character behaves in a way so unlikely it feels like she must be overmedicated. Only a horse ton of valium could elicit a reaction of such calm in someone facing wanton invasion and destruction. There’s a missing offstage father who gets a better narrative. As for “Mom,” the magnificent Jacqueline Williams manages against all odds to instill the play’s only unnamed character with dignity.
The casting breathes new life into the script. Lee and Austin are both Black men in a rural western setting, around 40 years ago. When they talk about standing out like a “sore thumb” or getting “picked up” for merely walking around, there’s an ominousness that doesn’t exist when white men play the roles.
Through 8/25: Wed 2 and 7:30 PM (Wed 7/17, 7/24, and 8/21, 2 PM only), Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat-Sun 3 and 7:30 PM (Sun 8/18 and 8/25, 3 PM only), Tue 7:30 PM, Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650, steppenwolf.org, $20-$96.
