Do you have a desire for sex with someone other than your loved one?
What if you could fulfill that sexual urge and still keep a happy and healthy relationship with your partner?
These questions are examined in Bruce Norris’ “The Qualms,” now playing at Steppenwolf Theatre. When Chris (played by Greg Stuhr) and his wife, Kristy (Diane Davis), enter into the polyamorous community, we learn about a lot more than just partner swapping.
In the play’s first scene, Gary and Teri (played by Keith Kupferer and Kate Arrington), friends of the new initiates, explain how the idea of partner swapping works for them. They believe that “while the mind/heart may have fealty to a partner, the body knows no such allegiance,” as Artistic Director Martha Lavey states in the play’s program. As the wine flows and time passes, the new couple grapples with this idea.
Director Pam MacKinnon shifts the play when we meet two more couples, Ken and Deb (Paul Oakley Stovall and Kirsten Fitzgerald)—a seemingly odd couple considering their age difference and Ken’s possible homosexuality—and Roger and Regine (David Pasquesi and Karen Aldridge), a wealthy and high-strung couple. As the couples interact, the initial element of swinging becomes less important and we look at the effects sex has on status, power, gender and even politics. After Chris’ status is threatened (the couples feel he will experience sexual jealousy through swapping), his reaction leads to the play’s most important point.
Overall, the play is a success. The couples are immediately likeable and different in their own ways, but I found some of Chris’ naivety a little heavy-handed. There is a great comedic sense throughout the play, and while not all the humor was PG-rated, the line deliveries are too good not to laugh. The only hitch lies in the connections to politics and status, as some of these connections were covered a bit hastily. With that said, the play’s main intent is still delivered and I left the theater still contemplating some of the themes therein. It looks like Bruce Norris has landed his eighth successful play produced by Steppenwolf Theatre.
Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of “The Qualms” plays at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, through August 31. For tickets, visit Steppenwolf Theatre’s website.
Photo by Michael Brosilow.
