Review: ‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’ at A Red Orchid Theatre

I often joke with friends about how significantly our world shifted in 2020. Our lives essentially split into a pre- and post-COVID-19 existence, and everything that happened in the before-times feels like it occurred in a completely different lifetime.

That’s dramatic. But it’s the result of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic fused with a nationwide social uprising. Because of these world-halting events, things that happened in 2019 feel ancient.

These are my thoughts as I squirmed in my seat during the Chicago premiere of Will Arbery’s “Heroes of the Fourth Turning.” The play, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, is a talk-heavy, intermissionless, two-hour drama about four friends who reunite in the small town of their Catholic liberal arts college.

The quartet arrives with intent to celebrate a former mentor and professor who has been named the new president of the institution. But as they catch up on the happenings in each other's lives, secrets are revealed, and ideologies unspool.

And all of this takes place on a rural ranch in Wyoming in 2017, during Donald Trump’s first term as President of the United States.

The play premiered off-Broadway in 2019, so the multitude of Steve Bannon references make sense considering when the script was likely written. Watching the production now, the same week Democrats demolished Trump-backed Republicans in the midterms, not only make the production feel dated, but unfairly comical. It’s impossible to watch these conservative characters without an air of snark as they question such weighty issues as abortion and trans rights, all the while treating the culture wars as an actual impending blood-drawing Civil War. The audience knows what will actually unfold. A lot.

None of that negates the earnestness in which these fine actors approach this work. Directed by ensemble member Dado, this very much feels like A Red Orchid production. It’s dark, humorous, surreal and thematically challenging, all of which I’ve come to expect and appreciate from this company.

I am, however, left with the lingering question: Why stage this show now?

The cast, which includes a riveting performance by Beck Nolan, a talented young actor who audiences may recognize from a role in the Emmy-award winning Apple TV show “Widow’s Bay,” and Chicago theater fans will recognize from his stellar performance in Definition Theatre’s “Keerah” earlier this year, brought apt sincerity to this staging. Nolan portrays Kevin, a curious and neurotic young man who questions both his own faith and the connection between Catholics and political conservatives.

Courtesy of Evan Hanover

Teresa, deftly played by Isa Grofsorean, is a right-wing blogger blinded by the culture wars. She dubs Kevin a “weakling” and seems to truly believe the libs are out to kill the conservatives.

Some of the most interesting interactions are between Teresa and the chronically ill Emily (Magdalena Dalzell), who once worked a job in Chicago at a clinic where she met pregnant women struggling to decide whether or not to have abortions. Here, the conversation moves from pure politics to humanity itself. Emily is still Catholic, and believes abortion is murder, but meeting these women and understanding their pain — which we learn, she can actually feel — unlocks a compassion that Teresa is unable to grasp.

Where the production stalls is in the dense dialogue discussing conservative ideals, books and leaders. I do think regional theater, especially in blue cities like Chicago, benefits from showing right-wing characters — and I enjoyed being a fly on the wall for these conversations. But in the years since this play was written, a lot of these particular debates feel settled. The conservative Planned Parenthood takedown doesn’t feel fresh and the conspiracies have long been debunked. This production would work better if I was learning something new, and that is not the fault of anyone on stage.

The script also feels like it’s missing something. Justin (Nate Santana), a rugged Marine who is ten years older than his classmates, has palpable sexual tension with Emily, yet this passion isn’t explored. Displaying those feelings, and leaving us with no resolution, feels unsatisfying.

Courtesy of Evan Hanover

The characters themselves have no arcs. Each former student leaves the production in the same place he or she enters without learning anything new or evolving in any significant way. When ensemble member Kirsten Fitzgerald enters the stage as Gina, a former professor and mentor whom the students have gathered to celebrate, she’s a force, as usual. She challenges the students, especially Teresa, with whom she harbors a deep disappointment. But after she storms in and reminds the youngsters she lived through political events they only read about, she just … leaves. And we get no real resolution.

This production has strong acting, an impressive rural backyard set by Grant Sabin, and compelling scenes that offer insight into conservative ideology. But it feels dated and suffers tremendously from a lack of dramatic tension, which leads to it feeling like two uninterrupted hours of characters talking to each other.

I think experiencing this play in 2019 would have been illuminating. But seeing it now, it seems to have missed its mark.