The Free Associates celebrated their fourth anniversary of Cast On A Hot Tin Roof; four years of improvising plays in the manner of Tennessee Williams from on the spot audience suggestions. They do this exceptionally well, which is probably why they still have an audience for their tailor-made plays "not by Tennessee Williams" (as they state in the program notes). So closely in his spirit do they follow, you could almost swear you're seeing a new, posthumously unearthed tidbit Williams wrote and tucked into a drawer.
The night I went, the play was set in the 1950's. Titled You Can't Get There From Here, the piece revolved around the Worthington family, residing in Fanning Football: Lillian (with a secret of incontinence), son Jimmy Bob (who yearned to be an astronaut), closeted Aunt Tallie (with a yen for a female boxer). And what an angst-ridden tale they made of it! The multi-talented Free Associates turned a few statistics into a full-fledged play, seemingly in a matter of seconds. This is the kind of company that gives Chicago its well-deserved reputation for improv theater.
