By Carol Davis
SAN DIEGO—Lisa Kron is a political animal. I can identify with that. When her leading character, Ellen, smartly played by Aubrey Saverino, is glued to CNN and/or MSNBC to catch all the political talking heads speaking her language, I get it. And it becomes abundantly clear, as the projections of the still to be decided Bush v. Gore presidential election loom above the living room in her apartment (Victoria Petrovich) and with all of Ellen’s passions that we are in the middle of a political and personal dust storm.
Lisa Kron’s In The Wake is making its West Coast Premiere at the San Diego Repertory Theatre bringing with it a number of funny, thoughtful, infuriating and insightful blasts from the past of political upheaval that Ellen thinks is the reason her life in the fast lane is headed on a collision course. The play is talky, rambling and oft time veers into waters, yours truly found could be cut but overall, under the careful direction of Delicia Turner Sonnenberg and with an amazingly strong cast, it is an invigorating evening of theatre.
The play starts with a looong conversation Ellen is having with herself, addressing the audience, confessing that like the events of the past year, 911, counting “chads”, the Supreme Court involvement in deciding the presidential election, Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War that something has ‘already happened…’ Everything feels familiar and yet totally unrecognizable and I don’t know how to negotiate that. There must be a blind spot somewhere”… “There’s got to be some huge thing we’re not seeing …”
Little does Ellen know, but that blind spot she’s not seeing is her own life spinning out of control. Like the political climate she’s railing against in the Bush administration: she wants it all stepping over anyone and anything to get it, consequences be damned. Ellen is, in essence, blinded by her own self-destructiveness that parallels these very same events that sicken her. The folks in her life, that have been tolerant so far, will soon tire of her ‘I want it all’ obsession and demand results.
Those in her immediate world include: her loving and caring schoolteacher boyfriend, Danny, (Fran Gercke), Danny’s sister and Ellen’s best friend Kayla (Jo Anne Glover), and Kayla’s partner, Laurie (DeAnna Driscoll) who put up with her and seem on the best of terms. They all live in the same New York apartment building a few floors up from each other. From the outside looking in, everything looks hunky dory as they are readying for a Thanksgiving dinner together. Talk is small, comfortable, jovial and easy, except for Ellen who’s glued to the TV monitor but still paying attention.
Would that we could frame that picture as in a Norman Rockwell scene. We soon learn, however that Ellen is also attracted to and later will fall in love with Amy (Karson St. John) an experimental filmmaker she reconnected with some time ago while on a trip to Boston. They were former classmates. Judy, (Stephanie Dunnam) is another of Ellen’s long time friends who is an international aid worker home for the holidays from Guinea.
Judy manages to throw a wrench into most of what Ellen holds dear regarding the political systems and fairness. Seeing the global dynamics from afar, gives her an entirely different perspective and outlook on local politics. Ellen is almost crushed by her bluntness contradicting all that she holds dear.
Sixteen-year-old Tessa (Alexis Louise Young) is Judy’s bi racial niece who has had a lousy life so far and Judy is trying to set her up at a private school while she is home. Tessa also freaks out when she learns that Kayla and Laurie are lesbians.
But Ellen’s problems, ‘looking for that blind spot’, go deeper than Tessa’s distaste for the lesbian lifestyle. Ellen pushes the envelope so far in every direction that her very patient and loving boyfriend has about had it up to here and her best friend Kayla and her ‘wife’ are about ready to move out of New York and Amy wants resolution about their relationship. In other words, you know what, or get off the pot!
Blessed with an exceptional cast, Kron’s In The Wake at The San Diego Rep., while wordy and sprawling, holds your attention primarily because everyone is so convincing and, in some way comparisons to our own held beliefs and behaviors surface. In one of his more relaxed and solid performances Francis Gercke’s Danny is every woman’s ideal man; patient, funny, smart and caring. Aubrey Saverino is equal parts smart, gullible, funny and passionate as Ellen the “I can have it all gal” whose political naivete matches her own life style. She embodies Ellen’s character to a T.
Karson St. John, just landing from her role as The Angel in Ion’s wonderful production of Angels In America and the M.C. in Cygnet’s Cabaret, shows why she walked away with an award from the San Diego Theatre Critics Award as ‘Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical, Female. She’s versatile, passionate and oh, so convincing. It’s no wonder that Ellen was attracted to her.
DeAnna Driscoll is a hoot as Laurie as she takes on the tough guy alpha role in the relationship with Kayla, the soft, understanding and will do anything to avoid an argument best friend. JoAnne Glover is just right in this role. Stephanie Dunn fits in to this scenario and becomes one of the strong ‘other voices’ as cynical friend Judy. She struts her stuff as the hard line realist until we learn that her live-in boyfriend is married and has decided to go back to his wife.
It looks like Ellen isn’t the only one with a blind spot among these friends. Danny has his with Ellen, Judy has hers with her boyfriend and Amy has it with Ellen. While the others are left in the wake of this whirlwind called Ellen, she still gets the last word as so aptly stated by the playwright, “To get more, there’s always going to be loss.” And in Ellen’s last words, “I said I wanted more… Maybe this is what more looks like”.
Kudos to Decilia Turner Sonnenberg, whose critically acclaimed production, A Raisin In The Sun for her Moxie Theatre is still a must see. She is at it again with this taut and clever production. Her amazing ensemble and technical staff include Victoria Petrovitch’s realistic apartment with a useable balcony leading to the outside of the apartment, Kate Stallon’s easy costume designs, Tom Jones sound design, Ross Glanc’s lighting design and Omar Ramos, Projection Design Associate. The pictures were worth a thousand words.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through March 4th
Organization: San Diego Repertory Theatre
Phone: 619-544-1000
Production Type: Comedy
Where: Lyceum Space, 79 Horton Plaza, downtown
Ticket Prices: $32.00-$51.00
Web: sdrep.org