Don't get me wrong, I love, LOVE the so-called "Chicago" school of theatre - best known for razor-sharp, faced-paced dialogue, realistic-to-a-fault sets and lighting, and blunt, in-your-face acting that puts it all right out there on stage. And it's been a pretty good month for fans of this school - between Brian Dennehey at the Goodman, Killer Joe at Profiles, August: Osage County at the Palace and American Buffalo at Steppenwolf. 

However, it's also nice to let the creative, expressionistic side of theater in every once in a while, especially in this cold hard Chicago winter. For when that expressionism is coupled with the intensity of acting found in Steppenwolf's Brother/Sister Plays, it feels like magic is happening right before your eyes. 

The Brother/Sister Plays (there are three total) follow a small community living on the bayou in Louisiana. Although the plays cover three generations, this is no sweeping epic. Rather, the three plays each focus on one or two members of the community, at a specific point in their lives - more of a snapshot than a feature film. However, the bigger picture begin to reveal itself when minor characters from one play become the focus of another - and we get to see how a small decision in one piece can have a big impact in another. 

Although the plays are set in the "distant present," they look and feel like classic Greek Tragedy. The stage is bare, with the exception of a few buckets that serve as props, seats, and imaginary walls, while both the lighting and character movements are fluid, dreamy, almost dance-like. The focus, then, is almost entirely on the actors - their movements, their words, and their interactions with each other. And many times, even when their character isn't "performing," the actors are onstage - watching intently or sitting observing, a modern-day Greek chorus. 

And as it should be. The acting here is some of the finest I've ever seen from an ensemble cast. There is no weak link, no obvious star, and, because of the small size of the cast, most everyone plays a main character at one point or another. There is a reason plays are rarely performed in repertory - it takes extremely talented actors to not only perform in two plays at once, but utterly transform themselves from one character to the next. If you go on two different nights, you won't believe you're seeing some of of the same actors, and if you go for a marathon performance of all three plays on the weekend (which I highly recommend), you'll be amazed at the transformations that happen from one hour to the next. 

And while the plays are, at their most basic, about an African American community in Louisiana, you'll leaving feeling as if you've explored some of the mysteries of the universe - from coming-of-age and sexuality to friendship, family and love in its many, many forms. Not a bad way to spend 7 hours on a snowy Chicago day.