Jerry Perry and Kathryn Erbe in “Dance of Death” at Steppenwolf
Somewhat Recommended
The highlight of Dance of Death at Steppenwolf is the outstanding set design of Collette Pollard, that dominates the stage.
Featuring an impressive, ancient, oppressive, dimly lit three story plaster and brick edifice, that apparently was a former jail, it is now the military home of a company commander and his wife located on an offshore island.
Set in Scandinavia sometime in the late 19th or early 20th Century, Alice (Kathryn Erbe) and Edgar (Jerry Perry) will soon be marking the 25TH anniversary of their mostly unhappy marriage. The structure serves as a physical representation of the couple’s own feelings of entrapment and isolation.
The two are alienated from their community, their extended family, their teenaged children (away at boarding school) and most importantly from each other.
Edgar is an aging soldier who only feels alive when there is conflict in his life, while Alice a former actress requires constant drama.
Their relationship was founded on mutual physical attraction that has generally faded with time and has never matured or progressed to one of mutual understanding and companionship, consequently the two alpha types battle to maintain their dominance over one another and retain the illusion of their own youthful personas.
The arrival of an old friend Kurt (Cliff Chamberlain) offers an opportunity for distraction as each try to engage him as an ally, but ultimately, they treat him more like a mouse that has wandered in and is unable to find his way out, becoming simultaneously an object of amusement, intrusion and torment.
Since I am unfamiliar with the original version by August Strindberg, I am not sure how this new version by Conor McPherson compares. I can’t exactly identify why the dialog seems uncomfortable but it seems like it has one foot on the platform and the other on the train. The cadence was odd and theatrical, never sounding truly authentic.
Ultimately this is a rather simplistic storyline that is a voyeuristic expose of a dysfunctional relationship. The imposing set and time period makes it feel like a classic opera without the satisfaction of some beautiful music or any soaring highs and lows. This never reaches the dramatic level of similar plays like Hedda Gabbler, Little Foxes, or Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Veteran actor and Steppenwolf cofounder Jeff Perry is obviously at home on this stage. His physicality and slightly over-the-top performance belies his fifty-year association with the renowned theater company.
Erbe found her stride in the second act, however Chamberlain seemed to never fully strike the right tone for me. To some degree this was likely due to the challenge of playing a shy person while still maintaining a commanding stage presence. Also, his character is written in such a way that he is full of unresolved backstory that comes across as a fragment from another play.
Perry used the whole stage and made his character large. Erbe and Chamberlain often appeared to be unsure exactly where they should be, moving tentatively if at all.
The costume choices for the captain by Ana Kuzmanic, and the lighting of Lee Fiskness including the in-floor lights and outside ambient lighting were very effective.
It is assumed that movement consultant Claire Kaplan is at least in part responsible for the captain’s very entertaining solo dance performance.
A story of narcissistic marital conflict, it is not all doom and gloom. There is plenty of tension and vengeful plotting but also moments of dark humor and at least a momentary truce or two.
This had some good moments. The set design is awesome but the dialog seems stilted, it’s a bit long, and the play overall is just not as satisfying as I had hoped.
Details: Dance of Death at Steppenwolf, 1650 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, through March 22, 2026. Run-time about 2 and a half hours with one intermission. For tickets visit Steppenwolf.org or call (312)335-1650.
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