Chicago Living On Stage
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There's a good chance you'll feel right at home when you see what's on stage at the Goodman Theatre, even though you've never seen the current show.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports how the play "Support Group For Men" has a special Chicago signature.
See if you can guess where this apartment is.
It's got a door with steel mesh to the alley, hardwood floors and moldings, radiant heat and Cubs clutter everywhere.
"The apartments of Chicago aren't sterile environments or corporate feeling," said playwright Ellen Fairey.
It's not Lakeview or Hyde Park.
It's center stage at the Goodman Theatre.
"You know a Chicago apartment when you see one," said director Kimberly Senior.
"Support Group For Men" is a comedy about a guys night get-together that's also a love letter to Chicago.
Painstaking detail was taken to create its set: a classic Chicago apartment.
"I lived here 23 years. I had 15 different apartments," said Fairey.
"I said we should walk around Wrigleyville and figure out which apartment it is," said Senior.
So the creative team did just that - photographing inspirational apartments and condos, and translating their traits to the stage.
The bathroom soaps on the windowsill are among the authentic touches.
It is uncanny how the living spaces mirror what's on stage. Rooms that that help form our outlook on life.
"They embrace you just like the city does. There is a coziness here," added Fairey.
Senior added "there is an openness that is also about the open heart of the people who live in the city."
People not afraid to put a Cubs snow globe on the bookshelf, even if you barely see it from the back row.
"Support Group For Men" runs at the Goodman Theatre through July 29.
