Great Again

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[avatar user=”Darryl Reilly” size=”96″ align=”left” ] Darryl Reilly, Critic[/avatar]Great Again is a program of two intriguing and engrossing works by women playwrights that subtly reflect the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They were commissioned by the Project Y Theatre Company for their second annual Women in Theatre Festival.

Chiori Miyagawa’s In the Line is a 45-minute series of thoughtful vignettes that take place on various lines and at cafes and restaurants.  Ms. Miyagawa’s dialogue is often poignant and wry, and it all builds to a wistful conclusion.

They’re linked by the recurring character of the emotional Leanne, whose parents died during 9/11. She is wonderfully played by the captivating Sol Marina Crespo with bewitching intelligence and sensitivity.  We follow her on lines: to vote, to buy a Nintendo game, and to get into a trendy restaurant where she strikes up a friendship with the loquacious Ertha, marvelously performed by Ashley Jones.

Midori Francis, Sade Namei, Kristen Kittel, Ashley Jones, Vichet Chum, Daniel Petzold, Madalyn Pedone, Monica Rounds, Tomoko Tokugaki, Norihiro Maruta, Kaho Furuta, and Patricia Cancio make up the talented ensemble of actors and dancers. They perfectly enact the gallery of characters who populate the different locales.

Kristin Horton’s well-calibrated direction results in affective performances from the cast and yields visually precise physical staging on the bare space.  This stagecraft is complemented by Sonoko Kawahara’s accomplished choreography with its arresting tableaus, freezes and glorious movement, especially a slow motion sequence at a rock club.

In the Line is a vibrant and theatrically realized mediation on contemporary life, with all of its randomness and surprising degrees of separation.

The mystery of who carved a swastika on a desk in the classroom of a struggling high school is the spur of Crystal Skillman’s engrossing The Test.

Ms. Skillman’s 70-minute play is a fine blend of well-delineated characters, flavorful dialogue and provocative situations.  It’s somewhat marred by a pedantic lecture near the end and an overly ambiguous conclusion.

Ada is a 40ish, African-American English teacher grappling with personal and professional problems. Her promising literary career has stalled. Her mother has Alzheimer’s and has recently been institutionalized. She’s sad about a departing teacher that she’s been close with.

“Life is disturbing. Fiction is survival,” she declares.  Lord of The Flies is the book that her class is currently reading.

The overbearing, unseen female principal (comically heard during phone calls) is pressuring her to improve her class’ grades and to find the culprit of the incendiary incident.

The short scenes are punctuated by the harsh tones of the school bell and there are sounds of students that appropriately give a sense of place.   Comic relief is provided by a reappearing silent custodian who paints over the offensive symbol.

It’s crisply staged with a measured pace, a documentarian style and dashes of suspense by director Jessi D. Hill.  The acting is exceptional.

Mary E. Hodges’ majestic performance as Ada renders this central character with tremendous depth.  Ms. Hodges is forceful, sympathetic and magnetic.  With her animated features, wide eyes and charismatic presence she makes a great impact.

As the sunny history teacher and aspiring playwright Paige, the charming Taylor Shurte is delightful.  Ms. Shurte’s ebullience, vibrant facial expressions and comic timing recall the young Joan Cusack.  Shurte and Hodges have a palpable chemistry that makes their character’s deep friendship totally believable.

Plausibly and engagingly portraying two of Ada’s students are Angel Moore and Eric Wiegand.  The intense and playful Ms. Moore is girlishly feisty as the outspoken Zarina.  Mr. Moore offers an inspired portrait of a volatile adolescent whose family are Trump supporters.  Moore also skillfully delivers a funny speech that insightfully analyzes the socio-economic aspects of the supermarket C-Town.

The Test is a worthy addition to the genre of noble teachers aiding uneasy students with clever contemporary twists.

An assemblage of blackboards, desks and doorways are the elements of Hallie Zieselman’s artful scenic design for The Test.

Lighting designer Christina Watanabe and sound designer Mark Bruckner contribute jolting and stylized effects to both plays. Becky Bodurtha’s costume design is colorfully authentic for each work.

“…Allowing new and emerging voices to be part of the theatrical conversation” is the mission of the Project Y Theatre Company that was founded in in Washington, D.C. in 1999.

The goal of their three week Women in Theatre Festival is “a direct response to gender disparity in theatre leadership, casting, and production, the objective of WIT is to broaden the opportunities for women artists, engage with an audience who seek an indie theatre experience, and add to the canon of women playwrights writing roles for women actors.”

Great Again quite successfully fulfills these commendable aspirations.

Great Again (through June 24, 2017)

Project Y Theatre Company’s 2^nd Annual Women in Theatre Festival

The Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at the A.R.T./New York Theatres

502 West 53rd Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.projectytheatre.org

Running time: two hours and ten minutes with one intermission