House Gives 'The Sparrow' A Home

Peter Parker's uncle once told him that "with great powers come great responsibilities." Young Emily Book is learning that lesson the hard way.  Part comic book, part psychological thriller in the vein of Carrie, The Sparrow is an emotional ride that is grounded in its raw story telling.  This is the third mounting of The House Theatre's production, which previously played this year at the Viaduct Theatre to sold out crowds and quickly became the must see show to see.  It then transferred to the Steppenwolf where it enjoyed an equally successful run.  For this outing, The House has teamed up with Broadway In Chicago and has nested into the Apollo Theatre. 

The story follows Emily who is the sole survivor of a tragic accident which a entire class of elementary students from Spring Farm, Illinois are killed when their bus was hit by a train as it crosses the tracks.  After a long absence, Emily returns to Spring Farm to attend high school.  As the story unfolds, Emily goes from outcast, to hero, to outcast.

Revealing anymore of the plot would not be fair to the readers who have not seen this masterpiece.  And I don't use that as a throw away term.  To see this production is to see what a true theatre company is.  It is a 'company', with each member supporting each other on the stage and off.  The bond between these actors is a force that cannot be described on paper, it just needs to be witnessed. 

Carolyn Defrin's portrayal of Emily is perfection. Defrin's eyes convey to the audience every single emotion that Emily is feeling.  On the opposite end of keeping emotion in is Chris Chamberlain who equally acts on par with Defrin.  Watching the scenes these two characters have together is  watching a how to course in acting.   I really cannot get these performances out of my mind and it has been several days since I saw the production.

The Sparrow was conceived and directed by the House's Artistic Director Nathan Allen who shares writing credit with Chris Mathews and Jake Minton.  The music for The Sparrow, which is just as essential to the play as the actors is by Kevin O'Donnell who knows just the right mood to set with each scene. 

The Sparrow is booked through December 31, 2007.  For more information visit www.broadwayinchicago.com or www.thehousetheatre.com

Photo by Michael Brosilow: Carolyn Defrin as The Sparrow

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