Today seems feisty for some reason, so let’s just go with it. Now nearly thirteen years old, Lee Blessing’s 1999 solo play Chesapeake might seem at first glance to be a little dated, a little creaky, maybe showing its age a bit. Arrest those thoughts, citizen, and heed: it’s, ah, not, is all. Still vital. If you think it’s not – if you think that, now that we’ve gotten past Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms and that there are no longer any such things as NEA grants for individuals, the arts are free and open and no artists anywhere in America are subject to any kind of repression whatever – then you probably haven’t been paying as much attention as you should. The threats are still out there. Anyway, no, Blessing’s play has not lost any of its impact, or its humor, and the new staging at Remy Bumppo is evidence thereof. (FULL ARTICLE: Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times)