Hands take, shoot, and lift in Steppenwolf’s Chlorine Sky

Akili Ni Mali, Samuel B. Jackson and Destini Huston in Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere adaptation of Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne, based on her book, and directed byEricka Ratcliff. Running now through March 11, 2023. Photo by Michael Brosilow

There’s a reason the young adult genre attracts more than the intended audience. We all wish we knew what we know now, then. We all need the reminder that we’ve been fighting the same battles since before we were ready. We all forget that all that we have overcome thus far is at once petty and pivotal. Steppenwolf Theatre premiered their latest YA production, Chlorine Sky, last week to applauding audiences of all ages. Based on Mahogany Browne’s book and directed by Ericka Ratcliff, Chlorine Sky combines noughts nostalgia and the cruelty of youth in a production filled with sport, poetry, and friendship.

Centered around the bond between Sky (Akili Ni Mali) and Lay Li (Destini Huston), the play opens with the age old downfall of female friendship. Boys. Sky is used to being the shadow to Lay Li’s light, doesn’t mind that she helps her shine brighter while diminishing her own glow for the sake of friendship, but as Lay Li enfolds herself deeper under Curtis’ (Samuel B. Jackson) arm, Sky resents that their friendship is one-sided. Lay Li calls, she comes, Lay Li needs advice, needs bolstering, she is there. When the court is flipped, Lay Li doesn’t return the favor. We watch as two girls fall apart and come back together – luckily – even stronger and surer than before, crafting their own story instead of sinking into the depths of someone else’s whispered narrative.

Boys hands may take, but in this ensemble of actors, under Ratcliff’s direction the men, or man (all male characters were played by Samuel B. Jackson) gave. Jackson added moments of levity with his bevy of characters, all unique, all fitting a relatable member in the high school roster. The violence itself was never showcased or played out, it was barely confessed, allowing the male perspective and role to take a backseat to the powerhouse of women’s voices driving the heart of the play. The women in the play at first bask only in the light that could be shone on them by male interest but in the end realized that the brightest rays were coming from their truth, lived, breathed, and experienced. All except one, Kiyana. Confident, unique and driven. Demetra Dee plays the youthful anomaly, the new friend that shows Sky there is a different way of viewing high school and yourself.

The audience itself feels like bonus background characters in the high school setting. We were in the gymnasium, at the mall, the park, included in the moments as bystanders watching what we would whisper about later. We were wrapped into the perils of youth: family dynamics and destruction, the appetite for teenage girls to be women, and the never ending quest for figuring it all out. The tension and humor didn’t end when the scenes concluded. Each moment mattered, the actors didn’t simply walk on and off stage, they added depth and moments of brightness, they added fuel for the story that was unfolding both within the confines of the teenage story circles and reality with glances, pauses and unspoken words. Adding to the constant dance and shuffle of characters was basketballs on stage. Sky’s anchor, keeping her from going adrift, is basketball. Her affable and steadfast cousin, Inga (Alexis Ward), aids her in finding the strength and focus on the court while the outside world – Lay Li, her sister Essa (Tiffany Renee Johnson, and new love Clifton – pulls her toward dangerous currents and begs her to change. The game onstage is both fun, energized choreography and layered experience, allowing the characters to maneuver on and off the court through heartbreak and grandiose wins.

In the heft of the play, right at the climatic shift, we are reminded of the importance of a posse as the weight of the world is lightened in a final mortal combat redemption scene. Who else will dress like a ninja to take down a boy? Who else will allow the scene to be filled with fun and silliness along side the power that is revenge? Who else will hold your hand and be ready for more, the next one, next time?

Chlorine Sky runs until March 11. For more information and tickets, visit www.Steppenwolf.org.