Steadstyle Chicago
	March 2010 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	The DNA Trail Over the years, one of the things that I stress to my readers is that Chicago has great diversification in what it brings to its stages, not just in the large regional theaters like Goodman, Steppenwolf, Shakespeare, Victory Gardens etc., but also in our storefronts all over town.  One of the storefront theaters is not in a storefront at all, but rather in the lower level, called Pierce Hall, in the Historic Chicago Temple Building located at Washington Street at Clark.  This theater troupe is known as Silk Road Theatre Project and they produce mostly original work to open our eyes to the world along what is often called the "Asian Line" where travel went through China and Japan and then to the US, Cuba and South America.  This is what the many writers involved in "The DNA Trail" now onstage at Silk Road brought into their seven stories that deal with Ancestry, Identity, Genealogy, and their own DNA.  Each of the seven playwrights took a DNA test to find out more about who they were, their identity and those who made them who they were.  They then wrote their particular story based on what they learned. This is a challenging topic to undertake and while some of the  stories they present are special and cause to think, there might be just a few more than needed making this a 2 plus hour performance.  90 minutes without an intermission might have made more sense and would have left some time for a break and the post discussion for those who truly wanted to learn more.  The writers who are part of this unique experiment in theater are all clever; Elizabeth Wong,Velina Hasu Houston, Linda Patel, Shishir Kurup, David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda and Jamil Khoury, who conceived the whole idea.  His story is one that will open your eyes as his name is very Asian, but he is in fact a new kind of WASP, a White Arab Slovak Pole.  I would have loved to see this particular story be the last of the episodes as it was by far the strongest and most realistic of all.  This would have ended the show on a high note instead of Gotanda's "Child is Father To A Man," a sad ending to a delightful afternoon. Directed by Steve Scott, the seven stories do have a nice flow and the cast of actors are superb.  They include Jennifer Shin, Cora Vander Broeck, Khurram Mozaffer, Fawzia Mirza, Melissa Kong, Anthony Peeples and Clayton Stamper, who appears to be the only non-Asian, but handles himself in all of the roles he plays with great skill.  All of them are fine talents who make the material work.  As I said, the only thing I had a problem with is the length of the production and not having enough time to do some real explorations in a post discussion.  A 90 minute show, then a break and then resuming in the theater for those who opt to learn more for let's say 30 minutes would make more sense and perhaps be more educational to those who want to learn more about the Silk Road Project and its objective. Oh well, perhaps the next time.  Meanwhile, "The DNA Trail" will continue through April 4, 2010 at Pierce Hall.  Performances are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.  Tickets are $34 and can be purchased by calling 312-857-1234 xt 201 or online at www.srtp.org.    About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The Epoch Times.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.