I Never Sang For My Father (thru June 27) by Al Bresloff

"Death ends a life, but it does not end a relationship". These are the first words spoken by Gene Garrison (a wonderful performance by Kevin Anderson) in Robert Anderson's " I Never Sang For My Father" at the Steppenwolf Theatre. For Gene Garrison, life with his father was never easy. When his parents return from their annual winter in Florida, his mother's health has deteriorated, and he must take greater responsibility for his difficult father.

This is a heartwarming story that strikes a universal chord on the subject of family, aging and loss. The main characters in this play are people that will remind most audience members of people they have known (or even themselves). Tom Garrison (played by the dynamic John Mahoney) is a self centered man who has worked hard to overcome his poor childhood where his father left him to be the man in the family.The life he was forced to live brought him to be what he is and Mr. Mahoney develops this character to its fullest extent. This is not anywhere near his lovable Martin Crane that we all know and love. His scenes with Kevin Anderson are so real, you almost feel as through you are eavesdropping. While these two performances are worth the price of admission alone, there are also excellent performances by Deanna Dunagan and Gene's loving mother and Martha Lavey as Alice, Gene's sister who has no connection with her father since marrying outside of the faith and moving from the New York area to Chicago. Through these women we learn a lot about the man that Tom is and was.

Anna D. Shapiro directs these fine actors flawlessly- every pause, every move is used to bring better meaning to the words that have been written. Todd Rosenthal's set is just barely there, but is perfect! The use of a bare stage with a turntable to change scenes and a backdrop (with wonderful projections by Sage Marie Carter) to assist in setting the moods makes this story even better. There are no distractions. The action is where we focus and that is what we find ourselves doing and the lighting by Kevin Adams works to full advantage in setting the mood. This is a production that brings all of its parts to make for a total picture that the audience loves.

"I Never Sang For My Father" will run through June 20th with performances as follows:Tuesdays thru Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Wednesday matinees June 9th and 16th at 2 p.m.

Tickets range in price from $38-$60 but the Steppenwolf, as part of their commitment to make theater accessible to all, is offering Twenty tickets for $20 for each performance. These tickets become available at the box office at 11 a.m. on the day of the performance by phone at 312-335-1650. Rush, standby tickets at half price are also available one hour before show time (these cannot be prepurchased and are subject to availability).

The Steppenwolf Theatre is located at 1650 N. Halsted and is easily accessible by public transportation. There are many fine restaurants in walking distance (affordable) so one can make a complete evening without great expense. For more information check out www.steppenwolf.org.