There are no heroes in Kenneth Lonergan’s dark, bracing Lobby Hero, just gradations of self-deception and self-preservation leading to myriad bad choices by all of the characters. There is a villain, however. And in Shattered Globe’s production now onstage at Theater Wit, Adam Schulmerich nails the role of Bill, a dangerous toxic narcissist overlaid with a thin veneer of good-cop smarm.
In the other pivotal role, Elliot Esquivel is more of a mixed bag as Jeff, the fuck-up overnight lobby guard at a Manhattan high-rise who gets himself and everyone else in serious trouble by unleashing a constant stream of inadvertently damaging gossip. Jeff’s tonal shift from non-serious loser to a man looking to do the right thing feels jarringly sudden, but Esquivel is always interesting to watch, all nervous tics, awkward jokes and the smallest big dreams imaginable.
His boss, William (a nuanced Terence Sims), sees Jeff as something of a project and maybe even as a friend, much to his later regret. One big flaw in this otherwise tightly plotted play is why in the world William would ever entrust Jeff with a damaging secret. Sims does what he can to sell his character’s questionable judgment, but it remains a head-scratcher. As Dawn, the rookie cop partnered with Bill in more ways than one, Emma Jo Boyden underscores how a mix of naivete and idealism can lead to a series of disastrously bad choices.
Ultimately, all of these people are working the graveyard shift because they can’t rise above their faults. Even the characters who end up doing the right thing to bring a measure of justice to a murdered nurse are driven at least in part by their need for revenge or to be seen as mattering in the world. No one’s hands are clean, and the play ends up asking whether it’s better to do the right things for the wrong reasons or the wrong things for the right ones.
Devotees of gritty noir will feel right at home, especially with the increasingly menacing Bill. In trying to emphasize that vibe, the dramatic lighting and music cues are distractingly on the nose, but all in all, this is a satisfying night at the theater with no happy endings in sight.
Shattered Globe’s production of Lobby Hero runs through March 8 at Theater Wit.
For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.
Photo by Michael Brosilow
