Denny (Randy Steinmeyer), a tough Chicago cop, describes the deadness he sees in the eyes of criminals. It shows their numbness to desperation and pain, what allows them to commit acts of violence and brutality. In Keith Huff's superb "A Steady Rain," currently playing at the Royal George Theatre, we see that deadness creep into Denny's eyes as well, allowing him to justify the increasingly horrific things he does. The play is the tragedy both of a man unable to recognize his increasing similarity to the criminals he stalks, and the inability of his best friend and partner Joey (Peter DeFaria) to stop his slide.
Huff's play was produced last fall at Chicago Dramatists to such acclaim and success that it was picked up by commercial producers for a run at the Royal George, with an eye towards a future New York life. Though I missed the first ten minutes of the performance due to a scheduling mishap, I think the show is well worth seeing in its current incarnation, and certainly deserving of future productions.
The plot shows us how Denny and Joey got to be who they are, and the long, rainy summer when their lives unravel, due both to circumstance and their own actions. The acting is extraordinary. Steinmeyer lets us see with uncommon honesty and intensity into the mind of a man who truly believes, despite the evidence, that he is doing the right thing for his family and his city. DeFaria shows us a man realizing, with mounting horror, what his friend has become and always was, and unsettled by what it shows him in himself.
Some elements of the plot may strain credulity, but overall this is a moving and gripping production that looks beyond the stereotypes to show us real people, trapped by their fates and themselves.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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