Alec Phan and Kaylah Marie Crosby Photo by Jenn Udoni

This is a show about the sometimes very complicated intersections of love, sex, and (befitting a trans story) identity. The plot follows trans man Adam (Alec Phan) two years after his transition, and begins as his fiancée Lily (Kaylah Marie Crosby) decides that, even though she still loves him, she can't remain with him because now that he is outwardly a man she's having trouble with her own deeply engrained identity as a lesbian. Cast adrift, Alec has to deal with the contemporary dating world (apps! OMG!) and his own new place in it, which is complicated by Lily's ongoing presence in his life.

His path is aided and abetted by his best friend, Samuel (Omer Abbas Salem), a gay man who offers advice, companionship, and a totally zen "roll with it" life philosophy; his sister Natalie (Ashlyn Lozano), currently in the ninth month of waiting for her surrogate to give birth; and Alycia (Emma Fulmer), a sexually open-minded woman he meets at Natalie's baby shower and begins dating.

Phan is entirely sympathetic as Adam, mired in the pain of losing Lily, stretching his own newfound confidence as a man exploring his life and sexuality. If it perhaps seems to come too easily or quickly, it's only because Allen has chosen not to show us any societal backlash connected to who Adam is–that's not the point of this piece–but instead has surrounded Adam with highly understanding (or, in Alycia's case, inquisitive) characters who completely accept him as he is. This is clearly representative of the people this character would associate with, and it allows him to speak openly about his emotions without any need to be didactic, always a possible problem in this sort of situation and one that Allen wisely skirts. Though the outside world almost becomes present in a scene in which Alycia talks about her ultra-conservative parents, these characters (along with their negativity) never appear, allowing Adam's search for romantic fulfillment to remain the focus.

Phan's scenes with Fulmer are often the kind of frantic, control-free moments we'd expect from sexually adventurous young people, while also allowing Alycia to play the part of the newcomer, asking questions she hopes are OK to ask (which they mostly are) and tempting Adam to move on in his life. Scenes with Crosby are quieter and more intense as both actors forefront the pain of the breakup and the knowledge that they both still love each other despite their identities being incompatible. But it's in the non-romantic scenes, with Salem and Lozano, that Phan gets to show us the deeper complexities of Adam's life. With Salem, he so easily fits into the playful "bro-ness" of young male bonding that–as with the other characters–there is no way for the audience to see Adam as other than the way he sees himself. With Lozano, the longitude of their family relationship is visible in every scene, as is the love they share. In one scene, as they build an infant toy together from Tinkertoy-like (but sturdier) pieces, it's easy to see the years of life that precede this moment. And as Natalie, Lozano manages to portray a fully realized, complicated character through a few short, mostly comic scenes–no mean feat.

Director Landree Fleming's work ties together Allen's scenes, which are not always in chronological sequence and at times leave props from previous scenes onstage. She makes excellent use of these props, though, to help transitions, and the characters' facial expressions work to seal the deal: sometimes, they seem to sense something is a bit askew, but as they settle into a scene, we do as well. It's a masterful use of movement and the audience's own expectations to keep things moving along.

Fleming, of course, has excellent support, starting with scenic designer Milo Bue, whose strikingly monochromatic set forces us to see the effects of the emotional implosion of Adam's world. (Thanks to About Face Artistic Director Meghan Carney for confirming Bue's intentions for me.) Lighting designer Conchita Avitia throws pops of color into scenes as Adam's experiences begin to restore his balance, and Ethan Korvne's sound design brings us into Adam's state of mind. (One track is maybe too on the nose: the Killers' "Read My Mind." But it feels right anyway.) As to intimacy choreographer Chels Morgan, they had their work cut out with all of the entwined bodies here, but everything ends up looking and feeling perfect throughout.

I am right in the wheelhouse as an audience member for this play, but I think it would take a determined transphobe not to have fun at it–and they are not going to come anyway. If I gave star reviews, this one would earn four out of four of them. And, as I mentioned to a few people at the post-show reception, About Face fits beautifully into Raven's Schwartz Stage. It's an excellent theater to showcase the messages of their productions and a lively space in which to watch a play.

Modern Gentleman, an About Face Theatre production, runs through April 18, 2026, at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago IL. For tickets and information, please visit aboutfacetheatre.com.