Chicago

Sexual Perversity in Chicago takes place in various settings around North Chicago. There are few actual references to the city itself, save for the atmosphere of the city and the fact that it borders Lake Michigan. Mamet simply refers to it as "a Big City on a lake" (Introduction, p. 3).

The places in Chicago are typically nondescript, leaving a lot of latitude for the actors and set designers who would otherwise be locked into a specific style and atmosphere. The only places that are mentioned by name are the Art Institute, the toy department at Marshall Fields, and Commonwealth, Yak-zies, and Grunts, which are presumably night clubs or bars.

Mamet takes a bit of a risk in making the location so vague, but is undoubtedly secure that the variation in the stage productions will serve him, and the play, well.

The scenes in the play include: a...