Steadstyle Chicago
	June 2009 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
	Little Brother How much personal freedom would you be willing to sacrifice for the interest of national security?  That is the question posed by "Little Brother," a fascinating new play by William Massolia adapted from the novel by Cory Doctorow that is making its World Premiere in a smart, scintillating production by Griffin Theatre Company.  In 1983 the movie "WarGames" posed a similar hypothesis of Global War initiated by a teenage hacker.  Could a kid genius with a computer and a phone line (and an apparently unlimited long distance calling plan) actually tap into the military's computerized missile system and launch World War 3?  The idea is the same, although we know now that Internet super power is a reality and not just the imaginings of a Hollywood script writer. The play may borrow its basic tenet from Orwall's "1984" manifesto, but it does so from a completely 21st Century perspective.  What happens when "big brother" government runs amok and begins to trample on the very liberties and freedoms it purports to protect?  While our elected leaders debate "water boarding" and other scare tactics designed to interrogate terror suspects, "Little Brother" puts them onstage in a dazzling and thought inspiring way.  Griffin Theatre Company has done some accomplished work in the past, but "Little Brother" feels like a must-see primer for anyone contemplating what kind of democracy we live in here and now. "You have to choose freedom" is the play's rallying cry and it's fervently and compassionately delivered here.  "Little Brother" explores territory Orwall could only hint at.  Marcus Yellow is a 17-year-old senior at Chavez High in San Francisco who finds himself at the center of a massive government interrogation operation.  Marcus is your typical techno geek who "knows how to do stuff," i.e. "making technology work to my advantage".  He believes in an "open school culture," with the option of coming and going as he pleases.  As he tells pal Darryl, "Skipping school isn't a crime, it's an infraction".  The school administration has been watching him closely, having reason to believe the youthful anarchist may have been responsible for the theft of the previous year's standardized tests.  To that end, library books have been implanted with a homing device that not only scans but tracks their users wherever they go. As Marcus contemplates the invasion of privacy by school officials, things are about to get more intense than he ever bargained for as the world is changed forever by the bombing of the Bay bridge and the loss of thousands of lives.  It's an act of 9/11 level terrorism and the country is once again plunged into a mindset of fear and panic.  Who can you trust?  The Department of Homeland Security takes drastic measures, rounding up and detaining potential suspects such as Marcus and his friends and subjecting them to excessive torture procedures to gain intelligence.  The tactics are necessary for drug dealers and potential enemy combatants, we are told. Marcus' mother refuses to believe her son is a terrorist, while his father feels that any effort to keep the country safe must be accepted and obeyed.  This is a time for national unity, his father and teachers try to instill in him, and in such times personal liberties must take second place to the "greater good" of the country.  To Marcus, "Everything that's great about this country is getting flushed away".  It's time for a revolution as the computer geeks band together to build a web of trust in order to communicate with one another.  No longer will the X-Net platform be a path for game playing but a vital expansion of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. A slogan is launched: Don't trust anyone over 25, and Marcus, a.k.a. "M1K3Y" becomes its cyber leader.  But how secure is the wireless network and who can be trusted?  In an age dominated by cyber communication and technology overkill, how safe are we really?  When is the First Amendment not absolute?  If the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were intended to be granted in descending order, must we sacrifice happiness and possibly liberty to guarantee "life"?  And what kind of life can we enjoy without freedom?  These questions should cause all of us to pause to reflect.  And thanks to the articulate writing of author William Massolia and the engaging, earnest performances of Mike Harvey and fellow cast members they certainly do. If for no other reason than the importance of its subject matter, "Little Brother" is must-see theatre that should be packing them into the cramped second floor Athenaeum Studio Theatre.  But Director Dorothy Milne doesn't stop there.  She uses Set Designer Alan Donahue's metal chain link fence and gray slate concrete cell as a primal metaphor for a modern day police state.  Sarah Hughey's intense lighting, Rick Sims' vibrant sound design and the projection and video design by Charlie Alves all compliment Milne's imaginative vision.  "Little Brother" is a remarkable work of writing, performance and production. "Little Brother" plays through July 19, 2009 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 North Southport Ave., Chicago.  The play runs 2 hours with intermission.  Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Tickets are $25.  There will be no performance on Saturday, July 4.  Call (800) 982-2787 or visit www.griffintheatre.com.   About Joe Stead Joe Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for the past twenty-five years.  He served as founder, producer and Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida.  Favorite productions have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap," "The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker," "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Godspell".  He has also performed leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin," "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for Waukegan Community Players.  Joe holds a degree in Commercial Art from Tampa Technical Institute.  As a critic, he has reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida.  Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America.  He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers.  He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene.  Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays.  His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).