Review: Mercy Killing Brings Anxious Queerness, Murder, and Romance to Open Space Arts

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Open Space Arts has a new show in its 20-seat storefront theater, and it's a story of life and after-death you won't want to miss. Mercy Killing by Alandra Hileman premiered in 2018 at the Awesome Theatre Company of Oakland, California. The 70-minute play runs smoothly without an intermission, showcasing its four cast members in dynamic and enthusiastic interplay. Chicago-based director, actor, and intimacy professional Greta Zandstra helms this especially lovable production at Open Space Arts.

Mercy Killing is just over an hour of delightful characters, macabre romance, and corporate satire, set in San Francisco. Mercy (Stephanie Fongheiser) is optimistic for a barista, looking at the world through romantic eyes as she listens to her favorite podcast about serial killers. But when Mercy stumbles across a body on the street, she learns that there’s more to life—and death—than meets the eye. Specifically, an entire corporate infrastructure. She encounters Thana (Madeline Ackerlund) an Afterlife Transition Specialist (ATS) who describes her work as "Uber for souls." As she collects data on her most recent "transition," she bonds with Mercy, the only mortal on the scene. The pair falls headlong into a forbidden infatuation, and their relationship has a pretty big hitch; Thana is more of a "metaphysical concept" than a person, and she can only come around when a soul is transitioning to the afterlife. Mercy, wanting a bigger commitment, begins creating her own deadly meet-cutes across SF, hoping to cement her bond with Thana over warm bodies and cups of tea.

(Set Design by Rick Paul, costumes by Savana Nix, lighting by Lex Newman, and sound by Jim Yost.)

Stephanie Fongheiser, Lydia Hanman. Photo by Tadhg Mitchel.

However, when Mercy meets her favorite murder podcaster Angie (Lydia Hanman) at the cafe where she works, they begin a flirtatious friendship. Keeping her secrets becomes increasingly challenging for Mercy, and spending time with her girlfriend gets even more complicated when Death Corp.'s HR rep Harmon (Artem Kreimer) arrives on the scene. Harm—who also happens to be Thana’s ex—is sent to investigate the increase in "nonscheduled transfers"—AKA murders—across the city. Will it be a happy ending for our star-crossed lovers or an unavoidable tragedy?

This whip-smart script makes working in the afterlife sound just as corporate as making a living on earth, introducing unnecessary technical terms and office drama that bring Thana's work into focus. Fongheiser is both bubbly and unnerving as Mercy, and her enthusiasm for violence perfectly contrasts Thana's professional and serious demeanor. Her chemistry with Ackerlund is spot on, making audience members audibly swoon over their charming, if impractical, romance. Angie clicks with Mercy over their special interest in homicide, and Hanman plays right into the stereotype of a nosy podcaster who gives unsolicited advice. Artem Kreimer embodies several roles throughout the story, showing off his versatility from annoying cafe customer to murder victim to awkward work ex.

Artem Kreimer, Madeline Ackerlund. Photo by Tadhg Mitchel.

This story exists in a contemporary space that will make you giggle—there's quarterly sensitivity training for the afterlife specialists, a tracking app called Reaper, because "Marketing is trying really hard," and Karma is a department of one. The complex queer relationship dynamics are also good for a chuckle, along with Thana and Harm's cringy mimed-murder handshake. If modern life and death both involve too much red tape and paperwork, at least Mercy Killing gets every laugh it can.

Set design is by Rick Paul, costumes by Savana Nix, lighting by Lex Newman, and sound by Jim Yost.

Mercy Killing is playing at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave. (1/2 block east of Clark St.), through November 17. Tickets are $25 eneral admission, $20 for seniors, and season passes to Open Space Arts' four productions are $60 via https://openspacearts.org/.

For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.

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Row Light

Row Light (she/they) is a Chicago-based culture writer and editor. You can find their work at row-light.com.