A Loss of Roses

Playwright William Inge specialized in depicting the unfulfilled dreams and repressed desires of Americans living in the heartland. In this 1959 drama he finds his favorite themes in the rural Kansas home of Helen Baird, a pious widow letting her directionless son, Kenny, and an out-of-work actress, Lila, lodge with her during the Depression. You’d think three adults cooped up with their various longings would generate some heat, but in director Cody Estle’s arid staging nobody ever strikes the match. It’s partly the fault of a half-formed script oscillating between Freudian mommy issues and the downward arc of Lila, a wounded peoplepleaser with a reckless streak. Eliza Stoughton turns in a touching performance in that role, conveying both vulnerability and pragmatism.

—ZAC THOMPSON Through 4/2: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, 773-338-2177, raventheatre.com, $39, $34 seniors, $17 students.