Highly Recommended
“Tom & Eliza” is a fairly brilliant example of absurdist theater. Beautifully performed by Clifton Frei as Tom and Seoyoung Park as Eliza, it is written by Celine Song and expertly directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy.
Reminiscent of Ionesco and Albee, “Tom & Eliza” focuses on ideas of existentialism and exploring the psychology of aging, marriage and sexual relationships with an attitude of absurd surrealism.
On the surface, this is the story of two people whose parents made love, they were born, they had three dates, they made love on their third date, they had children, they lived, loved, made choices, grew apart, came back together, they lived separate existences then faded into their own oblivion.
Playwright Song shows us the arbitrary and bizarre trajectory of life and relationships based on spontaneous often impulsive decisions with little understanding of purpose or potential consequences.
The two share certain commonalities but they are also as different as fire and water. Tom is a seeker of knowledge interested in the evolution of civilization on the banks of four great rivers. Eliza is a destroyer of knowledge with a passion for burning books.
I see this as a spoken word performance akin to a musical duet without music. There is a cadence to the words as Tom and Eliza tell their stories via short clipped phrases with a captivating rhythmic quality.
There are a number of repeated phrases that have the effect of a song’s chorus or hook, reminding us of what we have learned while preparing us for where we are going.
Like an epic poem recited alternately by two people, they are mostly each speaking introspectively to the audience and occasionally to each other. It’s clear that real communication between the characters is superficial. They are on parallel paths that are asynchronous, yet the performance is very much in sync.
As performers Frei and Park have clear well-articulated euphonious voices, pleasant to listen to no matter what they are saying. And that’s important because they are speaking basically nonstop for 70 minutes atop two tall stools but never speaking over each other.
The austere set design of Tatiana Kahvegian augmented with lighting by Keith Parham and sound design of Alex Trinh appears deceptively simple but is fraught with considerable challenges that include a number of surprises. The technical elements come together seamlessly through obvious team work.
Tom & Eliza is a challenging and thought-provoking presentation that may not appeal to a wide audience, in fact the theater only seats about 25 people, but this entire production is an example of elegant stage craft achieved through the effort of the entire crew and company that will be appreciated by those willing to take a risk to enjoy something a little out of the ordinary.
Tom & Eliza is at Tuta Theatre, 4670 N. Manor Ave., Chicago, IL (steps from the Francisco CTA Brown Line station) through Aug. 16, 2025. Running time is 70 minutes with no intermission. For tickets and information visit tutatheatre.org
Review by Reno Lovison
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