Chicago Tribune - September 14, 2001
Richard Christiansen

We see him there only intermittently, and at the final stage of the play. In between, Harvey shifts his scenes between heaven and earth, past and present, reality and fantasy.

We learn eventually that Danny was a victim of AIDS. We also learn more about him and his circle of friends: Connor, his lover; Lee, Connor's bluff, straight brother, and Lana, Danny's best friend and Lee's wife. Hovering in the background is Danny's daft, motormouth mother, who has been shuttled off to a mental hospital and whose body may be inhabited by Judy Garland. Entering in the aftermath of Danny's death is Ben, a wild young man who is HIV positive and whom Connor turns to in a turbulent relationship.

That's quite a mix of characters and situations, on the face of it quite unlike Harvey's earlier gay-themed drama, "Beautiful Thing," which was a straight narrative telling of the dawning love between two English lower-class youths.

Like "Beautiful Thing," however, "Hushabye Mountain" is peppered with references to pop imagery, in this instance Garland and the movie "Mary Poppins," and it also treats with great tenderness the relationship between close friends anchored in a loose and somewhat aimless proletarian life.

Gary Griffin, who directed "Beautiful Thing" for Famous Door Theatre in the Theater Building three years ago, has come back to do the same for "Hushabye Mountain," a play which presents many more technical problems in its time and place changes.

Ron Keller's scenery, a plain backdrop pierced by several doors, allows for quick entrances and exits, and he has added to it some snazzy special effects, such as a small boat that sails through the skies. Jeff Pines' shades of lighting make the sudden transitions understandable, and the cast of six actors silently and swiftly changes props and costumes as the scenes fly by.

Smooth as the production is, and as moving as many of these scenes are, the play is still a fairly lumpy affair.

The central love story, though played with fire and delicacy by Steve Key as Connor and Timothy Kane as Danny, doesn't add much to the recent theater literature of doomed, AIDS-stricken lovers, and the pop references, however skillful in Laura T. Fisher's handling of the Judy Garland and Mary Poppins vocal and physical mannerisms, aren't much more than amusing (and glittering) window dressing.

Still, the acting, sincere and eloquent, though all over the bloody map in its forced English accents, helps carry the day.

Patrick New, as Lee, once more turns himself into a big lunk who's also a decent bloke; Elaine Rivkin is most sympathetic as the understanding woman in Danny's gay world, and Brad Johnson's angry, wounded Ben is another fine portrayal in this young actor's increasingly impressive performance record.

Hushabye Mountain continues at theTheatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. $25 to $32; 773-327-5252.

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