Mud People by Keith Huff
Midwest Premiere
Directed by Carlos Lorenzo Garcia
2009
Angel Island, Chicago, IL
Imagine what would happen if Michael, the molting angel from the 1996 John Travolta movie, had fallen from the skies into that little Appalachian hamlet in Deliverance where the kid plays banjo and met up with the sick-fuck family from Sam Shepard's Buried Child. Imagine that that diner would look like? This piece is intensely savage and so is the setting. Resplendently dilapidated, the mood is more than set; it is real, tactile and oppressive. No need for characters or dialogue, we are in a place where hope couldn’t find its way to with a GPS tracker. Smells of fresh-brewed coffee and hash browns wafting from a working grill behind the counter, actual rain outside of the window adds to the reality. This is the most shabby, filthy, beautifully rundown diner one has ever sat in.
