Steadstyle Chicago
	February 2010 Theatre Review by Nicholas Ryan Lamb
	The Long Red Road “The Long Red Road” is a brilliantly composed work devised of the complexity that unravels the morals, weaknesses, and the inner thread of 6 interwoven characters.  Sam, masterfully portrayed by Tom Hardy, succumbed to the demon of drinking at an early stage in life that lead to the loss of one daughter, the absence in another daughter's life, and the literal tearing apart of his wife, due to an accident 9 years prior.  When the first glimpses of stage lighting pierce the stage, we see a duality of, at first, separate stories that inevitably will be blended into one.  Sam has found a new woman, Annie, embodied by the immeasurable Greta Honold, to put up with his constant drinking and hang-overs.  Her being a schoolteacher to local Native American students takes on the same profession to Sam.  Running parallel are the lives of Bob (Chris McGarry), Sandra (Katy Sullivan), and Tasha (Fiona Robert), a “family” with the love sucked out and a sinister secret hidden amongst them.  This “family” will be pulled into the inebriated world of Sam and his shortcomings when Annie calls and asks for Bob, Sandra, and Tasha to take Sam.  This leads to Sam being reunited with his daughter Tasha, and an explosive encounter with his brother Bob.  What is resolved in the end is more “blood” added to the long red road and the intoxicating smell of fire. This production displays the brilliance of what The Goodman can bring to the theatre community.  Directed by the impressive Philip Seymour Hoffman, he seems to allow the actors the freedom of choice and not to restrict the impulse to breathe more life into these characters.  Staged like a physically staggering tango, full of passion and heat, we are ripped through their warpaths with a vengeance.  Adding to this all-star team is the impressive Eugene Lee who once again creates a tantalizing space for the actors to inhabit.  The broken worlds all played in one space allows for a fluid movement needed for this script.  Lighting this world is the luminous Edward Pierce who artistically incorporates practicals and minimal stage instruments to paint the stage with a specific darkness and an illuminated reality.  The mesmerizing Tom Hardy, Greta Honold, Chris McGarry are well deserving of my standing ovation.  What they brought to the characters were more than just memorizing lines, and finding the internal struggle between themselves and each other.  They brought forth the heartbeat and the soul that allowed the audience to disappear and only their reality existed.  Katy Sullivan worked into her role as the show progressed and found her place in this world's caste system.  Fiona Robert, if she stays away from the “pop” world of theatre and seizes the classical training she is capable of, will ravish the theatre world.  The moment she starts the scenes with Annie and being reunited with her father is when she really shines.  Her emotional connection of being in the moment rivals older actresses that I have encountered.  I was however not impressed by the choices made by Marcos Akiaten.  They were flat and unmoving.  He has some pretty important scenes and a hard role to balance out, but I expected more.  As a side note, from where I was sitting, I noticed an unpainted part of the thrust that really bugged me.  It was a 2-foot section of lumber that needed to be finished.  The Goodman will surprise you in the end with a profound “wow”.  “The Long Red Road” is now extended through March 21, 2010.  For tickets go to www.GoodmanTheatre.org or call 312-443-3800.   About Nicholas Ryan Lamb Nicholas Lamb is a graduate from Illinois State Universities acting program with a secondary focus on directing.  He is also a graduate from SAK Universities improv school.  As an accomplished actor he has performed in dozens of shows with his most notable credits including the title role in "Scrooge" the musical, Adan in Milcha Sanchez Scott's "Roosters" and Nicely Nicely Johnson in "Guys and Dolls".  He was last seen on stage as Matt in "The Fantasticks".  Some of his most known directing works are "Barefoot in the Park", "The Secret Garden", and the well received "Birdbath".  Not only has he worked numerously with acting and directing but his training also includes the technical areas of theatre as well as film work.  He has directed in both Illinois and Florida for over 7 years.  He most recently directed the children's shows of "Charlotte's Web", "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", and "Pinocchio".  His palette for theatre is that of a culinary connoisseur.  Theatre is something to go in with an open mind, which is how he approaches each show he critiques.