Thanks to its deserved success, “Flyovers,” Jeffrey Sweet’s engaging new play on view at Victory Gardens Theater since May, has undergone major cast changes.
William Petersen and Amy Morton left the four-member company. Gary Cole (their one-time fellow ensemble member in the old Remains Theatre troupe) and Teddi Siddall are now in their roles and join Marc Vann and Linda Reiter, original cast members who remain with the production.
The new players not only fit into their parts with admirable ease, but their presence and slightly different portrayals underscore the strength of Sweet’s script as a poignant character study, an often hilarious comedy-drama and a pointed look at our life and times.
Some seemingly satisfying plays fall short on a second viewing. “Flyovers” proves even more insightful and well-crafted as it tells of three very different losers who gather in rural Ohio for a high school reunion 25 years after graduation.
Vann, as Oliver, the nerd and perennial victim who wound up a rich TV movie critic, says early on, “We really aren’t the same people after 25 years.” Sweet disagrees. Much of the twists that he manages in his dialogue and plotting reveal the opposite: These are people at the ends of distinct, but equally frayed ropes.
Cole, as Ted, the bully who used to beat Oliver for kicks, brings an easy air of macho authority and bravado. He’s almost gleeful as a beer-swilling bigot and sadist not to be denied moments of unlikely charm and sharp conversational ripostes. Cole glides into the role as if it were written for him.
Siddall (Cole’s wife in real life) finds refreshing comic touches as Iris, the waitress down on her luck and reluctant but ultimately willing to team up with Ted to trap Oliver one more time.
The production still belongs to Vann, who plays the drama’s most three-dimensional character with masterful comic timing and gesture.
Reiter, in a kind of cameo as Ted’s unstable wife, would be infinitely more effective and poignant if she traded her frenzied energy and externalized nervousness for more subtlety.
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“Flyovers”
When: Through Aug. 2
Where: Victory Gardens Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Call: 773-871-3000
