In 2006, a killer popularly known as the Suffolk Strangler murdered five sex workers. Although the bodies of the
Women were discovered in different parts of the generally quiet English town of Ipswich, located some 70 miles northeast of the nation’s capital, attention focused on the so-called red light district that centered on a street that went by the name of
London Road. Hence the title of the musical currently at Theater Wit on Belmont Avenue, where the Shattered Globe Theatre Company is producing the
American premiere of a very challenging but utterly compelling piece of theater. The show, which has book and lyrics by Alecky Blythe and
music and lyrics by Adam Cork, was first seen at Britain’s National Theatre and later filmed. It is really a contemporary opera and was based entirely on interviews with the people of Ipswich. In fact, the dedication to precision is such that all of the verbal tics, all the “ums” and “ahs,” and the word repetitions that usually occur on interview transcripts, made their way into the lyrics. I was variously put in mind of such docudrama-oriented works as “The Laramie Project,” “The Exonerated,” “Fires in the Mirror” and even “Come From Away.” In that spirit, it presents all views and all sides. Sans prejudice. Advertisement The main issue under review here? Even as the media focused on both the victims and the killer, the ordinary people of London Road had to go on with their lives. How do you go ahead and celebrate, say,
Christmas under such terrible circumstances? So you meet an ensemble of ordinary people dealing with the crime spree in real-time: In other words, we can see them before they know who the killer is or even when the events will cease. What they do know is that all of this is happening just feet away from where they lay their heads. But if you’re expecting a musical full of panicked people shouting and demanding resolutions, that’s not what you get: the characters are muted, mostly sad and confused figures, craving nothing so much as healing and resolution. They’re trying to enjoy their fish-and-chip suppers or their petunias and garden contests even as crime comes calling outside their doors: It’s a musical about the craving for what used to pass as normalcy, about how much we miss everyday life when some kind of crisis envelops us. Advertisement Kendal Wilson and Christina Gorman in "London Road" by Shattered Globe Theatre in
Chicago at Theater Wit. (Michael Brosilow / HANDOUT) “London Road,” which is superbly directed by Elizabeth Margolius and is the first musical in 17 years at Shattered Globe, is a cheering throwback in many ways to a kind of off-Loop production that has become rare in these difficult times for Chicago theaters. Instead of the small casts de rigueur this season, you get 11 actors playing 66 different characters, replete with a five-piece musical ensemble rigorously led by conductor Andra Velis Simon, who has been responsible for much storefront musical excellence over the years. I had no idea some of these Shattered Globe regulars — the cast includes Tina Muñoz Pandya, Rebecca Jordan, Linda Reiter, Steve Peebles, Christina Gorman and Leslie Ann Sheppard — could sing as well as is the case here. This is a very formatively tricky piece, especially since Margolius clearly wanted an unstinting kind of realism from her ensemble, but it’s masterfully sung by a company that also features Rengin Altay, Alani Gross-Roberts, Steven Schaeffer, Anne Sheridan Smith and Kendal Wilson. Depicting weariness, fear and mental fatigue over two acts and two hours is no easy feat, especially given the imperative to maintain dramatic tension, and this show, produced in a very intimate theater, really finds that balance. My only criticism is a design conceit involving upside-down photos, taken on the actual street by Margolius and her associate director, Daren Leonard. I get the artistic idea but I’d argue the audience would be better served just by seeing pictures of the ordinary street in an ordinary town, the place where these humans have found themselves to be. If you go, you’ll have to see what you think. I don’t claim any of this is a great time in the usual sense of going to a musical, which should be self-evident by now. But if you crave powerfuloff-Loop theater and support Chicago’s long and proud history of selfless ensemble work, deeply dedicated to honoring actual events and revealing human truths, then “London Road” has so very much to offer. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com Review: “London Road” (4 stars) When: Through June 3 Advertisement Where: Shattered Globe at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes Tickets: $25-$52 at 773-975-8150 and sgtheatre.org/london Steve Peebles, Kendal Wilson, Alani Gross-Roberts, Christina Gorman, Anne Sheridan Smith, Leslie Ann Sheppard, Rengin Altay, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Rebecca Jordan and Steven Schaeffer in "London Road" by Shattered Globe Theatre, a U.S. premiere in Chicago at Theater Wit. (Michael Brosilow / HANDOUT)