Sanctuary City, Steppenwolf’s new production by playwright Martyna Majok, is an earnest play with a bit of heart. It tries to demonstrate what the lives of young immigrants are like by showing the conflicts and heartbreak two of them suffer at the turn of the 21st century.
Grant Kennedy Lewis is B and Jocelyn Zomudio is G, teens living in Newark in 2001. They were brought to America as children so they are “dreamers,” part of the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). They are friends and hope to be able to create lives for themselves here but are hindered by lack of money and by their immigration status.
While B’s mother plans to return to their home country, leaving B behind, G’s mother becomes a naturalized citizen, which makes G a citizen too since she is under 18. B and G agree that they will marry some day. G goes to college in Boston while B stays behind, working low-wage jobs. Distance becomes separation. Years later, when they meet again, many things have changed. There's now a third character, Henry (Brandon Rivera—Light Falls, The Leopard Play, Pomona). Will B and G marry? Can the long friendship of B and G survive these changes?
Those are some of the questions posed by this play. It’s earnest, tragic and unsettling; it leaves us wondering what a future could look like for dreamers today. It’s also not entirely satisfying as a theatrical experience. None of the relationships among the three characters are emotionally believable; it’s hard for an audience member to be invested in their lives. The strongest and most realistic performance is by Zomudio as her teenage and young woman selves.
Director Steph Paul stages Majok’s script with a minimal touch in Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theatre. The first half of the play—on a bare stage, written in brief bursts of repetitive dialogue—is a series of quick scenes punctuated by lighting breaks. Gradually the relationship of B and G past and future is revealed. The last half of the play is set several years later on a furnished stage set. Scenic design is by Yeaji Kim with lighting by Reza Behjat and sound design by Mikhail Fiksel. Michelle Medvin is production stage manager.
The play’s title is a bit misleading. Sanctuary City has no connection to the concept of sanctuary cities or any discussion of their nature. (Newark is a sanctuary city, however.)
Playwright Majok was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for her play, Cost of Living, which debuted on Broadway this fall. Her other plays include Queens and Ironbound. She is currently writing a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
Sanctuary City continues through November 18 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Running time is 95 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $20-$114.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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