 "Photo: Steppenwolf Theatre")
 "Photo: Steppenwolf Theatre")
Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of A Separate Peace is full of WASPy adolescents, preppy outfits, friendship and betrayal. Nancy Gilsenan’s adaptation of John Knowles’ classic novel is centered around two roommates at an all-boys boarding school.
Gene (Jake Cohen) is uptight and studious, while Finny (Damir Konjicija) is vibrant and athletic, always willing to take risks. Finny pushes the other boys to try new things, like jumping off of a branch outside the window of their dorm room or playing rugby. The three other boys, like Gene, are usually hesitant at first, but eventually give in to what Finny wants them to do. Set in New England at the beginning of World War II in 1942, the thought of war is on all the young boys’ minds since they will soon be 17, the age they can start enlisting.
Gene sometimes hates Finny and almost fears him, since Finny is always pushing Gene to be a daredevil like himself. Eventually Gene cracks, and when Finny decides to have the two of them jump off a branch at the same time, Gene jolts the branch so Finny falls off. Finny has to have his leg in a cast, and his athletic career is over forever.
When Finny comes back from his time at home, he decides to train Gene to become the athlete he will never be able to be. The war hits home when their friend Leper (Will Allan, who resembles a taller and leaner Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter series), enlists. When Leper comes back home after deserting, all hell breaks loose, which ultimately leads to the play’s tragic end.
The stand out actor in this play is Allan: He has a great physicality when taking on his role as the ultra-geek who becomes a victim of what would today be recognized as PTSD. Cohen and Konjicija complement each other, although Cohen’s character lacks a certain panache. His static nature prevents him from reacting to the most dramatic situations. Konjicija, on the other hand, conveys his character’s combination of arrogance and magnetism, making him out to be at once likable and yet slightly repugnant as well.
Gilsenan’s adaptation does not shy away from the novel’s homoerotic undertone, characterized principally through Gene and Finny’s decidedly fraught friendship and the play’s main source of tension. Although the play steers clear of any kind of man-on-man action (in keeping with the novel), the suppressed longing Gene holds for his best friend remains palpable.
The play keeps viewers interested and runs a blessed 70 minutes long, quite an accomplishment for any literary adaption. Although the play sports an all-male cast, those of the opposite sex might find it illuminating, if only for the scene in which the principle actors strip to their boxers. For those seeking a higher kind of edification, A Separate Peace offers a glimpse into the world of WASP privilege at the onset of WWII, a world that has long since disappeared.
A Separate Peace, part of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults Series, is now showing at the Upstairs Theatre at the Steppenwolf Theater, located at 1650 N. Halsted St. The Show runs until March 14. Tickets are $15.
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