Lakefront Property

Uneven, didactic, yet insistently compelling, Sheffer’s new saga of two aimless young Chicagoans—both in relationships with phantasms—grapples earnestly with emotional depths from which most young playwrights shy away. Through the lenses of Kyla (in a budding relationship with a ghost) and Pokey (who cavorts with his imaginary girlfriend), Property paints a complex portrait of the fierce, random whims that constitute an inner life. In one scene, we hear a lyrical description of the edgy feeling one specter gets from seeing cresting waves frozen on the lake; in another, we get a picture of how Pokey feels dwelling in a vast city where each wide, empty street feels like something from a small town. Sheffer’s brand of psychological realism astutely conveys emotional lives that respond not to logical laws but to stimulants, dreary weather or even disconcerting architecture.

Sheffer certainly makes missteps. His characters often launch from these moving, incisive observations into professorial monologues—on what role Chicago (a “hotbed” of mediocrity, apparently) plays in the American psyche, for example. The acting has rough spots, with the women (particularly nymphish Sonneville) outshining the men. Happily, Spence makes sleek, smart directorial choices. With just half a dozen atmospheric lights, Spence conveys the icy but engulfing comfort these characters find in their minds. The vast church setting helps, dwarfing the characters like the city that overwhelms them. The eventual meeting between the two corporeal characters packs an emotional wallop.

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