Consider the term “mixed marriage,” and one typically conjures up a situation in which two people from different races attempt to overcome societal prejudice.
The premise of the provocative and well-acted “Sweet Nothing in My Ear,” a fascinating new play from Los Angeles being presented in Chicago at Victory Gardens, is that such a description could apply with equal validity to a romantic relationship between a deaf person and a hearing person.
Stephen Sach’s intriguing and provocative play explores issues of deaf pride with the same force that other dramatists have explored, say, black pride or gay pride.
Here’s the fundamental question behind this polemical Midwestern premiere: Is the inability to hear a defect that should always be corrected, or does it give a person membership in a proud deaf community that should focus on its own historical and significant place in a society rather than accept the majority view that the inability to hear inherently is a handicap?
The action here revolves around a married couple with a young child (the excellent George Scott Kartheiser) who could hear at birth but is now deaf. Born of proudly deaf parents, the boy’s mother is resistant to allowing the child to leave his community. But his hearing father wants the son to succeed in an audio-dominated society.
The Fountain Theatre has the benefit of several emotional and compelling performances– especially from Liz Tannebaum-Greco and Philip Lester as the conflicted married couple at the heart of the play. With a cast that mixes deaf and hearing actors (the show is equally accessible to folks from either community), this provocative production forces everyone to consider the cultural and political issues behind the ability (or not) to hear.
The themes are far from subtle, and the issues important to the playwright sometimes outweigh the characters’ plausibility. But this professionally designed and acted show will fascinate anyone interested in the role of non-hearing folks in modern society. It’s a powerful and provocative play that approaches a difficult topic with laudable honesty.
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“Sweet Nothing in My Ear”
When: Through May 24
Where: Victory Gardens, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Call: 773-871-3000; TTY: 773-549-3064
