Love Thy Neighbor…till it hurts
Premiered at Lifeline Theatre
Directed by Megan Shuchman
Music by Mike Pryzgoda
Photos by Michael Litchfield
Love Thy Neighbor…
till it hurts
Love Thy Neighbor…till it hurts is a fully staged solo piece that takes place in Rogers Park, Chicago– the neighborhood of which writer/performer Julie Ganey is a long-time resident. One afternoon, standing in her kitchen, Ganey heard a National Public Radio piece by Ira Glass about real estate and the recession that painted her neighborhood and block in an unflattering light.
Love Thy Neighbor is Julie’s response to Ira Glass: stories that collectively paint a picture of her neighborhood with its diverse ethnicities, social classes and lifestyles, and Ganey’s hard-won sense of home there. A tenacious look at how we misunderstand, mistake and misjudge each other – and choose to live together anyway.
“A “bristling, thoughtful, heartfelt response to an NPR piece by Ira Glass about real estate and the recession (that) winningly chronicles her various ‘Kumbaya’-like efforts to come to terms with neighbors who see her middle-class presence as both irritant and threat.” ”