American Blues Theater: Come Back, Little Sheba
Ethan Serpan and Maya Lou Hlava (front), Philip Earl Johnson and Gwendolyn Whiteside (behind)
American Blues Theater Presents COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA Review - I’m Starting To Think It’s Not About the Dog
TLDR: Sitting audience members literally on the set, American Blues puts the audience in the middle of the action and without barriers creating an intimate experience as we peer into the Delaney household. Handling heavy topics with powerful performances, we see how this husband and wife’s dynamic came to be through the catalyst of a young woman staying with them.
Gwendolyn Whiteside, Maya Lou Hlava, and Justin Banks
Please, Make Yourself At Home
Entering the studio space at American Blues Theater, we’re engulfed in the Delaney home. The living room sits unkempt with a damask patterned couch, coffee table, and laundry piled up by the ironing board. Raised above the living room is the kitchen with period accurate appliances and dishes that solidly place us in the 1950s. Surrounding the stage are wooden beams as the bare foundations of the house, making it seem like we’re peering into someone’s life. We get a clear view of everything happening in and around the house.
Our seats as the audience members are placed around all three sides of the living room floor. As the play begins we feel like we’re visiting their home, right where all the action is.
There’s Doc “Daddy” Delaney played by Philip Earl Johnson, a seemingly mild mannered man and recovering alcoholic. He goes to work every day as a chiropractor and then comes home, spending his time reading the newspaper or listening to a radio program.
His wife, Lola “Baby” Delaney played by Gwendolyn Whiteside seems lost, both outwardly in life as the stay at home wife and internally, but seeks connection where she can. She reminisces about the past to Doc and is holding a candle for her lost dog, Sheba.
They’ve turned a part of the house into an extra bedroom to rent out to boarders. Currently occupied by the bubbly and enthusiastic Marie, played by Maya Lou Hlava, both the Delaney’s have differing opinions on how she’s living her life but they seem to all function together under this one roof.
We see the hustle and bustle of their morning, but when the dust settles, all that’s left is Mrs. Delaney standing alone in the living room as the quiet emptiness settles around her. Throughout the first part, we haven’t quite figured out why this tension exists, but we’re feeling like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Philip Earl Johnson and Gwendolyn Whiteside
Can’t Look Away
Bit by bit we find out more about the Delaneys’ past and feel the strain on Doc and Baby’s relationship more and more. When that moment comes when the other shoe falls, we simultaneously understand the atmosphere of the house and are terrified. Sitting right there in the living room of their home, there’s no escape, no looking away, no fourth wall to keep you politely removed from the action. Instead, we get the raw and visceral actions coming from the actors.
When the denouement comes, we get the hustle and bustle again of another day - the postman comes, the milkman delivers, and the neighbor stops by. But this time at the end, it's different. We feel a growth in Mrs. Delaney’s relationships to these outside community members, but that this is going to be an endless cycle.
Maya Lou Hlava, Gwendolyn Whiteside, and Ethan Serpan
The After Party Thoughts
Our seats for this show were in the front row sitting in the living room. Doing my best to avoid spoilers here, but we were literally in between characters as they were fighting (also trigger warning). I myself was frozen in my seat, eyes wide, absolutely terrified because of these powerfully deep performances from Johnson and Whiteside.
Similar to another William Inge play I had the pleasure of seeing last summer (Picnic at American Players), American Blues Theater takes what could be stereotypical characters of that time and finds more empathetic motivations to portray. To be able to reach those levels of someone struggling with addiction and holding on to so many resentments and, on the other side, someone who has no other choice but to live with that and because of that makes very specific choices everyday has us in awe of what they bring to the stage.
Come Back, Little Sheba may not be for everyone - especially those who are triggered by domestic violence and addiction/alcohol abuse - but Come Back, Little Sheba is a very moving play and will make you feel a lot of emotions as American Blues paints this picture of this time period in America for us.
RECOMMENDED
When
Now through March 22, 2026
Where
American Blues Theater
5627 N Lincoln
Chicago, IL 60659
Runtime: 90min, no intermission
Tickets
$34.50+
Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (773) 654-3103 or through the American Blues Theater website
Photos
Michael Brosilow
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre in Chicago
CAST
Philip Earl Johnson (Doc Delaney)
Joslyn Jones (Mrs. Coffman)
Gwendolyn Whiteside (Lola Delaney)
Maya Lou Hlava (Marie)
Cisco Lopez (Milkman)
William Anthony Sebastian Rose II (Postman / Elmo)
Justin Banks (Bruce)
Ethan Serpan (Turk)
Zach Shultz (Ed & Voice)
CREATIVE
William Inge (Playwright)
Elyse Dolan (Director)
Shayna Patel (Scenic)
Brenden Marble (Lights)
Lily Walls (Costumes & Wardrobe Supervisor)
Thomas Dixon (Sound)
Tyson Carter (Properties)
R&D Choreography (Violence)
Gaby Labotka (Intimacy)
Richard Lundy (Stage Manager)
Michael Trudeau (Facilities Manager, Me)
Trevor Hannagan (Technical Director)
Chris Walls (Audio Supervisor)
El Valet (Asst Stage Manager)