The Cast Photo by Logan and Candice Conner, Ooomphotography

Jones shows us two adult Black brothers with a complicated history going on what has become an annual fishing excursion to a specific spot on the ocean where, each year, they confront a huge fish that in some way symbolizes their father's failures and crimes. If the playwright had chosen to dive whole-hog into the supernatural here, he might have made it work. As it is, there is some element of the supernatural, but it mostly serves to confuse what otherwise might have been a poignant story of familial breakdown.

From the outset, this play feels off, maybe because of the writing and maybe because of director Jamaque Newberry's pacing. We see Marcus (Malachi Marrero) lugging chairs and fishing equipment onto the deck of his boat, setting things up, and then waiting for his brother's arrival. All of this is done sans dialogue, an unusual choice that might have paid off if there had been any real way to justify it. As it is, we get several minutes of slow movement and silence and nothing but our own confusion as the result.

Even when older brother Bentley (Jelani Julyus) arrives with his own tackle box and a cooler, things don't pick up right away. The brothers speak to each other mostly in monosyllables to the extent that I briefly wondered if this was going to be a satire on male bonding and interpersonal relationships. All we know for sure is that they are going fishing. Details dribble in slowly until, as if reflecting the rain the boat is inexorably moving through, they eventually come in torrents.

Nothing wrong with that, of course: many plots unfold that way. But usually, when they do, elements that have been obscured become clear. Not so with this play: we learn, or at least can glean, enough of the brothers' background that we should be able to understand their relationship-interfering fight fully. (When they do come to blows here, fight designer Stephanie Mattos gives us a doozy to watch, well performed by the actors.)

Newberry makes several unusual decisions here (which, again, could well be dictated by the script). First of all, there is that initial silence. Then, when the boat finally pulls out into the ocean–and again on its return later–the journey takes almost no time at all. (Maybe Newberry could have made better use of silence to convey traveling time?) When the fishing begins, Marrero and Julyus toss their lines (often taking several tries due to uncooperative props) under the backdrop so that someone backstage can put a fish on the line–fish that require a huge suspension of disbelief to be seen as real. (With only a single exception, the actors don't bother making them squirm, and a couple of them, I swear, look like stuffed animals.) Props designer Charlotte Elana erred here, I think, as she did with fake cigarettes that appear to be lit coming out of the pack and White Claw cans that are so evidently empty that even actors who are trying to make them appear full–which is not the case here–would have a hard time.

Those are not the only issues. Most of the play takes place at sea in the rain. The rain on the boat's deck isn't bad–sound designer Peiran Zhao's effect is pretty good even if the thunder leaves something to be desired. And I suppose that no one is to blame for the fact that the brothers remain remarkably dry throughout; this storefront theatre isn't exactly equipped with rain-making machines. But here's the thing: this play was written to play at the Factory. Why did Jones write a rainstorm into the script that never had a chance of working? Or why not give us a boat with at least a tarp?

And why, in all of this rain, do they keep lighting new cigarettes?

And then there is the Big Fish, the symbol of their father's crime. Jones makes us anticipate its arrival for much of the play: this huge thing that hangs over both of them and won't allow them to let go of the past (though Marcus claims he has done so). But its supersized arrival–it is more whale than fish, though it is just a painted backdrop–feels out of place. Sure, we know that there is something supernatural about it–it always appears, for instance, exactly when they are on this trip–but, like the rain, I can't help thinking that the play would have been better off had different choices been made.

Both Julyus and Marrero weather this storm–pun intended–as well as possible. Their brothers have clear history together, both for better and worse. Jones has taken the time to write several bits of their past together into the script, and the actors play those every bit as well as their present arguments: these are two quite rounded characters presented by two accomplished actors and we can clearly see that. They are very believable as brothers, with all of the baggage that comes from that.

Way more often than not, I enjoy the original shows The Factory Theater puts on. This one, though, misses the mark. I can't recommend it.

Inheritance or Brothers from the Deep runs through November 23, 2024, at The Factory Theater, 1623 W Howard Street, Chicago, IL. For tickets and information, please visit thefactorytheater.com.