Truck in Pieces, Curious Theatre Branch, at the Lunar Cabaret. Notwithstanding its central character’s mantra–“I’m not going anywhere; where’m I gonna go?”–Beau O’Reilly’s new play tells the story of a journey. O’Reilly’s Bloom, like Joyce’s before him, spends a long day traveling on the fringes of the urban landscape as he struggles to square his memories with the present. And though every detail resonates with Ulysses, the play also stands on its own as a character study of “Truck” Bloom, a never-was boxer in midcentury Chicago. Between efforts to reconcile with his ex-wife, bail out his son, and protect some puppies, this mensch masquerading as a thug (O’Reilly himself in a perfect performance that earns sympathy without ever begging for it) relives encounters with his father, his “jag-off” brother, and Joey Buzz, a hero of his youth.
