Ash and Harley, the adult sisters in Kimberly Dixon-Mays’ new play, “Rabbits in Their Pockets,” couldn’t be more different. Ash (LaKecia Harris) works as a rocket scientist far from their hometown and takes a pragmatic, rather pessimistic approach to life. The more optimistic sibling, Harley (Simmery Branch), loves performing improv and hopes to open an arts center in the neighborhood where they grew up. In this world premiere at Lifeline Theatre, directed by Christopher Wayland, even their costumes mark the sisters as opposites; in the first scene, designer Emily McConnell dresses Ash in a neutral ensemble with a black leather jacket, while Harley wears a colorful knit cardigan.

A year after their father’s death, Harley asks Ash to help her prepare their childhood home for sale, giving the pair a chance to reconnect after growing apart. As they work through lingering tensions, the sisters share how they’ve individually struggled through bereavement and grief. With influences of folklore, magical realism and science fiction, the play also explores how their different ways of seeing the world ultimately empower these two women to pursue their shared goals of spreading joy and creativity throughout their community.

A favorite among bookworms, Lifeline specializes in original stage adaptations of literary works, most often novels. Representing a new chapter for the Rogers Park-based theater, Dixon-Mays’ contemporary drama is inspired not by a novel, but by A.A. Milne’s poem “Cherry Stones” and the “Br’er Rabbit” stories of African American, African and Caribbean oral traditions. A 2024 winner of Lifeline’s BIPOC Developmental Workshop, “Rabbits in Their Pockets” is the first play to receive a full staging through this program.

The references to Br’er Rabbit, a trickster who outsmarts his adversaries, range from a funny yet surprisingly nuanced portrayal of a rabbit by Harley’s improv student, Jasper (Marcus D. Moore), to the mysterious appearances of Inola (Felisha McNeal), an older woman who seems a bit too eager to help Harley with her plans for the arts center. Moore and McNeal both bring a lot of humor to their scenes, and McNeal is delightful to watch with her smooth talk and foxlike smile. I would have liked to see more of Inola, or at least to see her enigmatic machinations better incorporated into the main storyline.

Marcus D. Moore, Simmery Branch and Felicia McNeal in “Rabbits in Their Pockets” at Lifeline Theatre. (Josh Bernaski)

In addition to folklore, Dixon-Mays draws on elements of magical realism and science fiction in the sisters’ scenes. As Black women, Ash and Harley each have their own thoughts about the qualities that have enabled their people to persevere through many trials. “Improvisation is a Black technology; always has been,” says Harley, taking the long view of history from the civilizations of ancient Africa to the resilience of African Americans. Ash, with her more scientific mind, counters with the idea that joy is a Black technology, one that can literally be harnessed through clever engineering.

Ash runs with this concept while renovating the family home, creating a grid system that can capture, store and recirculate joy among the inhabitants — a sort of renewable energy source for mental health. (Think “Monsters, Inc.,” except that laughter begets more laughter, rather than generating electricity.) Ash’s one stipulation: the house must be sold to a Black buyer, thus continuing to spread Black joy. Skeptical of this miraculous invention, Harley opens up about the emotional labor that she has borne over the years as the reliably cheerful member of the family.

Lifeline Theatre’s ‘Rabbits in Their Pockets’ is inspired by African and Caribbean oral traditions

Both the folkloric and the sci-fi threads of Dixon-Mays’ script are compelling, but they compete for air, leaving each feeling underdeveloped. I could actually see each element working as the seed for its own play: further exploring the cat-and-mouse (or fox-and-rabbit) dynamic between Inola and the sisters on the one hand and expanding on the joy-powered house on the other. Nevertheless, in its current form at Lifeline, “Rabbits in Their Pockets” offers an affirming take on family relationships and the importance of mental health, with imaginative twists that add a touch of magic to the ordinary.

Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.

Review: “Rabbits in Their Pockets” (3 stars)

When: Through October 5

Where: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave.

Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Tickets: $45 at 773-761-4477 and lifelinetheatre.com

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/16/review-rabbits-pockets-lifeline/