Mary-Arrchie Theatre

This is what I’m talking about! Having to walk through some ghetto ass shit to find a poorly marked theater. Ah the memories, the dodged bullets, the drunken bums, it was always like an adventure (well, more like a dangerous adventure)… so why chance it? Because this is the only way find really amazing actors preforming in «pushing the bar» kind of plays. Back in the day they use to be all over but now they are almost extinct. Also they used to be almost only word of mouth, but now they have a little more help to promote.
This theater upstairs from a liquor store, which is great because they allow drinks inside. Not much to it, a small waiting room, two bathrooms, stadium style seating but it holds maybe a max of 40 seats (which aren’t really all that comfortable), and a small stage. The staff is ok and the crowds are always mixed.
The play:
The Homecoming
A play written and published in the 60’s, also winning a Tony Award in the same year and nominated in 2008 for «Best Revival of a Play». Set in North London, the play has six characters: five men who are related – Max, a retired butcher, and Sam, a chauffeur, who are brothers; and Max’s three sons, Teddy, an expatriate American philosophy professor; Lenny, who appears to be a pimp; and Joey, a would-​be boxer in training who works in demolition; and one woman, Ruth, Teddy’s wife. The play concerns Teddy’s and Ruth’s «homecoming,» which has distinctly-​different symbolic and thematic implications.
It goes to show that there are dysfunctional families every where. It was filled to the brim with awkward pauses, sexual tension, fear, and an array of nervous emotions. Though in my opinion it was hard to watch sometimes, it did get it intended reaction from me, I felt at times I wanted to get up and shout like I was a part of the performance. The actors gave a superb performance, the set design consumed you, and the play write was tough. I can’t imagine this was written in the 60’s!
Check it out for yourself!

Spectacular company — these are some of the best actors you’ll see in Chicago. They sponsor an annual AbbieFest, which brings in theater companies from all over, and during the rest of the year, they have tight, ensemble shows.
The theater space is across from a gas station and upstairs from a liquor store — it’s easy to miss it, or to wonder if you’ve come to the right place. But the simple little space is the perfect complement to a theater that is completely focused on the plays and the acting, nothing else.