The Goodman Theatre is showing one of the funniest plays I have seen in a long time—Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House. This Chicago premiere is a 'twisted piece of work' that will keep your interest from the very onset and leave you wanting more. The script has fantasy elements that make it funny, but this production is far funnier than the script, thanks to its marvelous interpretation by Jessica Thebus who directs each movement as if it were a symphony of comedy!
The characters include Matilde, a maid who gets depressed at the thought of housekeeping; Lane, a doctor who has medicated her depressed maid so she will clean her house; the doctor's sister who has nothing in life but to clean; and Lane's husband, a noted surgeon who has fallen deeply in love with a patient dealing with terminal cancer. Together these characters make for a laugh riot. Lane, the doctor (Mary Beth Fisher) appears to be happy but only wants those around her to do what she was created to do—help people. Her sister Virginia (Christine Estabrook) is unhappily married, has no children and loves to clean. She grew up in Lane's shadow and never accomplished her dreams. The maid, Matilde (Guenia Lemos, a Brazilian actress making her Chicago debut) had parents who were the two funniest people in Brazil, and she was the third. One day her father told her mother his "greatest joke" ever, and she died laughing. This incident inspires Matilde's life mission to create the perfect joke.
As mentioned, cleaning depresses Matilde, but Virginia loves to clean. So Virginia comes by each day and takes over cleaning duties, freeing up Matilde to concentrate on creating a great joke. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Charles (Patrick Clear) is treating a cancer patient, Ana (Marilyn Dodds Frank) also from Brazil, and they have fallen in love, believing they are soul mates.
The ensuing scenes of the relationship between husband/wife, sister/sister/maid, husband/all over allow for a series of jokes that are told in a combination of Spanish and Portuguese. While there are subtitles for some of the dialog, ("The best investment ever is to buy an Argentinean for what he is really worth and later sell him for what he thinks he is worth,") Ms. Lemos (Matilde) remains funny without them; you may not understand the words at all but the audience is still left to wonder—will I die laughing?
Catch, too, the wonderful set by Todd Rosenthal, creative lighting by James F. Ingalls and original music and sound by Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman.
The Clean House
The Goodman Theater
170 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago
through June 4th
Tickets: $20 to $65
Reservations: 312-443-3800 or check on line at www.goodmantheatre.org
Parking: Discounted at The Government lot at Clark and Lake
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