Review: THE BOOK OF GRACE at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

I usually appreciate when plays show and don’t tell, but THE BOOK OF GRACE really needs more exposition. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. Steppenwolf’s production is a new version of Parks’s 2010 play, expanded from its original 100-minute run-time to two and a half hours. Even with the extra run time, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks relies far too heavily on subtext that isn’t revealed to the audience.

THE BOOK OF GRACE finds Buddy returning home to Texas to  visit his father Vet and his stepmother Grace after 15 years of estrangement. The play hints at the reasons for the estrangement but never reveals precise circumstances.

Likewise, the characters’ logic and circumstances remain confusingly opaque. Buddy remarks he’s been “honorably discharged” from the military, but it’s never revealed why — or why he might be lying about that fact.  It’s evident enough that Vet and Buddy don’t get along; after all, Buddy hasn’t spoken to his father in 15 years. The script also hints that Vet is abusive (or at least massively controlling) to Grace. This might upset Buddy, but it’s unclear if that factors into his hatred for his father. 

The entire first act (and in fact, a significant part of the second) is a slow burn. This is clearly an ill-fated reunion, but Parks’s characters simmer in a vague state of unease for most of the play. It all comes to a brutal and tragic climax well into the second act. The second act generally takes some big tonal swings, shifting from relative discontent to all out violence. It’s a jarring transition, and the major reveals contained therein don’t feel totally justified by the preceding events. 

The clearest and most bittersweet element of this play derives from the titular BOOK OF GRACE. It’s a book Grace writes in secret, and it encapsulates her desire to find the good in her life—she writes about “the evidence of good things” in it. While the play communicates that element of Grace’s personality, it’s also not clear how much is optimism and how much is delusion. Does Grace have a controlling husband, or is she actively being abused and she’s searching for this “evidence of good things” to shield herself from the horrors of her life? The random passages Grace reads from her own book (particularly in a long stretch at the end of act one) doesn’t provide an answer to this question. 

While the play befuddled me, the performances were stellar. Namir Smallwood is always a welcome presence on the stage, and his take on Buddy combines his simultaneous capacity for gentleness and ferocity. This role requires him to switch between those two modes on a dime, and he does so magnificently. 

As Grace, Zainab Jah has an ethereal and calming presence. She delivers Grace’s “evidence of good things” with wistfulness that mirrors the fleeting joys of the good things she describes. Brian Marable conveys Vet’s intense focus and desire for order fervently — both as it applies to the U.S. border and to the order of items in his home (he’s obsessed with ironing the creases on his military jacket). All three actors clearly have an immense amount of trust with one another. It’s just confusing that sadly the play doesn’t really elucidate much about the characters. Grace’s motivations are somewhat clear, but Buddy’s ultimately motivations remain frustratingly murky. Likewise, while Vet expounds on some of his beliefs about the U.S. border and other small details in asides to the audience, we don’t fully see into his choice to abandon Buddy or the rationale for his behavior towards Grace.

I give immense props to Smallwood, Jah, and Marable for their fierce performances, but THE BOOK OF GRACE seems to be missing some pages. 

THE BOOK OF GRACE runs through May 18 in Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theater, 1646 North Halsted. Tickets start at $20.

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