Exquisite Pride Brokeback at Chicago Shakes

When Ang Lee’s landmark filmic adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story Brokeback Mountain hit theatres in 2005 it was a watershed moment: a mainstream love story between two men portrayed beautifully.  It was about time we saw as a culture that love is love, a message worth repeating as we move into Pride Month, celebrating LGBTQ ++ culture. Because the film is so iconic I was a bit skeptical that a play could add anything, and I have to admit I thought it was a musical and that set me back. My bad: It's NOT a musical. It is a play with a live score played on stage and the music, and the people singing it are such an integral part of the drama that now I cannot imagine this story any other way (although I will be rewatching the movie this weekend).

Brokeback Mountain, Ashley Robinson’s adaptation of the same Proulx short story, set in rural Wyoming from 1963 to 1983 is an artfully crafted, spare work of intense emotion and power that once again shows us a tragic love story where culture, class and prejudice horrifically derail any chance at a happy ending. Dan Gillespie Sells’ country music words and tunes give us the emotional underpinning of the narrative. The entire effect is stunningly beautiful.  Jonathan Butterell' s tight direction pares away anything extraneous so the 90 minutes speeds by. Tom Pye’s detailed set brings the Wyoming landscape and the hard scrabble interiors to the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater so well I felt the winds and cold. 

It is strange to me that this rendering of a story that reframes the idea of the American West and the men who worked it originated with a West End London premiere. American ideas of masculinity are so rooted in the mythology of Westerns, it feels intrinsically a product of our culture.  It is satisfying that this play comes home to the middle west where the war over what genders are and can be is once again waging. We have not come such a long way from the days when being gay was a reason to kill someone. Harrison Ball’s Ennis Del Mar is constrained and trying to thread an impossible needle, never to realize himself.  Jack Cameron Kay is a Jack Twist for the ages: charismatic and sincere.  This couple has magnetic attraction from the moment they come on stage. 

Seeing this superb nuanced production was a perfect way to kick off Pride Month and all of the issues we are facing as a nation where homophobia has become ok to exhibit once again and every day brings another anti trans initiative.  A story that highlights the character’s humanity and love, and helps us understand the costs and what we lose when we stop seeing people and only see the role.  

Brokeback Mountain is playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Chicago’s Navy Pier Tuesdays through Sundays through June 28, 2026. Don’t miss it.  For tickets and information go to https://www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/2526-brokeback-mountain/

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