A Sensational Realism

Parents, do you know what your kids are doing on Facebook, Twitter, chat rooms, Web sites and e-mail?

If you don't know, after seeing "Trust" at Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago, you will have an urgency to find out what is going on in your child's cyberspace universe.

Not only parents, though, should see this world premiere because the riveting production also is a must for teens.

Written by David Schwimmer and Andy Bellin and directed by Schwimmer and Heidi Stillman, the startling new work is not just for parents and their children.

"Trust" also is a warning for anyone concerned with the loss of privacy in our new world, as well as for those who want to experience one of the most edge-of-your-seat dramas playing anywhere in Chicago.

Set in a Chicago suburb against a wall-to-wall video backdrop, the show captures a sensational realism.

The fictional story centers on a 14-year-old teen who becomes involved with an Internet sexual predator who tears up her life and that of her family.

The young girl is - as most teens are - concerned with what her fellow high-schoolers think of her.

No matter how supportive her parents are, when her whole world comes apart with nightmarish consequences, she is still unwilling to confide in them.

This play, which will be made into a movie, suggests a similarity to many of made-for-television's tragic misery productions.

But Lookingglass' production of "Trust" is so well-written, so pitch-perfectly directed and elegantly acted that I have no doubt its immediacy and intimacy will trump the film version.

A star has been born with the talented 19-year-old Allison Torem's feverish portrayal of the young girl Annie.

Torem delivers an incredible performance of such honesty and emotional depth that you can't help but be captivated by her.

As the young girl's father, Philip R. Smith, who is always an impressive actor, gives his best portrayal to date.

He comes through with a compelling performance of such heartbreak that you feel his every ounce of rage, loss of control and pain.

In addition, Spencer Curnutt is right on as Annie's brother, Peter; Zoe Levin is sharp as Brittany, Annie's best friend; and Raymond Fox, whose likeable face looks anything but nasty, does a great job playing against type as the Internet sexual stalker.

"Trust" is a deeply emotional experience that is shocking, suspenseful, moving and starkly dramatic.

It's been a long time since Lookingglass has presented a work of such gripping and moral force.

Not only is this an important new work, but it's an exceptional piece of dramatic theater.