By Carol Davis
CHULA VISTA, California–If you’re in the mood for a Gothic thriller, lots of blood, the supernatural, bewitching witches, flying cats (check it out) supernatural curses, and family loyalty (and that’s just the beginning) The Sugar Witch by Nathan Sanders might be your choice of thrills for a Halloween Delight.
On Stage Playhouse is giving Sanders play an honest, if somewhat spotty airing on their Chula Vista stage; and just in time to have the bejeezis scared out of you especially if your preference is to see this rather than go to one of the many Haunted Houses in and around the city.
Imagine living along the banks of the Watchalahoochee River set off by swamplands in the fictitious outpost of Sugar Bean, Florida. The 100-year-old house located there off to the side of the property looks like one strong wind would knock it over. The sugar bean crop is gone, kaput! Years ago it kept the Bean Family thriving and king of these swamps. Those days are but memories and haunts.
The now once looked up to family is reduced to Sisser (Holly Stephenson does her job well) her sympathetic brother Moses (Ryan Casselman) and Annabelle (Yolanda Franklin) the African-American swamp mystic and conjure woman. Her job is to keep the family together and get rid of the curse hanging over them that was placed on it by her own grandmother.
Each has a secret and each has vowed to look after the other. It’s an unholy alliance these three have because secrets and promises and most likely an assortment of enemies are buried in and around their property and getting to the bottom and exposing them is what makes Sugar Witch so eerie.
As the story unfolds, however, some more very bad things are about to happen there (added to those that have already happened) but the remaining Beans don’t know it yet. When ripe for the pickin’ Ruth Ann Meeks (Anya Turek) comes snooping ‘round looking for Moses (she has a crush on him but his interests rest elsewhere) she comes face-to-face with Sisser. Little does she know that Sisser is not of sound mind and takes an instant mistrust to Ruth Ann, and that’s just hint of things to come.
Sanders tale is a rather convoluted oft timed funny yet horrifying drama with a dark side that can at times barely pass the white-knuckle test.
There are noisy cats that we hear flying overhead (Steve Murdock) and a special brew Annabelle cooks up that can turn a simple drink into fire. She goes into a trance trying to do away with the evil curse that hangs over them all and carries a walking stick (that can turn into a snake? I doubt it) that puts spunk into her limping pace. And that aint all: shotguns and axes are useable props, enough so that this reviewer was about make a quiet escape but for the fact that she couldn’t crawl over everyone in the row fast enough.
In the mix is a fair amount of racism, the feeling of isolation, fear and gay romance. There is a lot of territory covered here not the least of which is the mentally challenged Sisser, who eats herself into oblivion and a wheel chair because she too big to navigate on her own two feet, for the most part. We first meet her on the front porch of this dilapidated house in her wheelchair carefully putting chocolate in her mouth while playing with her hair.
But the saddest thing about her condition is that Moses is feeding that habit by bringing her favorite ‘Little Debbie Snack Cakes’ and ‘Star Crunches’ thinking he is doing her a favor. Meanwhile Annabelle waits on her hand and foot and that includes taking her to the bathroom. Once again though, this is a thriller, so don’t sit back on your laurels and underestimate anything that might happen.
Then there is Hank (Tony Bejarano has too much frown in his expressions) who falls for Moses in a big way. Conveniently he has returned home to take over his family’s funeral home business. He’s Moses’ gentleman caller, if you will and ends up right in the middle of Moses’ biggest lifetime decisions.
Just when Hank and Moses admit their attraction for one another and sparks begin to fly, Granddaddy Meeks, (a very scary Nick Young) comes a calling looking for his granddaughter Ruth Ann who never came home that night and he was pot boiling mad ‘cause no dinner was waiting for him! (Little does he know he’s going to have to do his own cooking from now on.)
I’m not going to give away all the details. It’s more fun to see it for yourself. I want you to be as surprised as I was. I can tell you that Bruce Wilde (along with the Sugar Witch team) designed a detailed and fussy looking set with run down furniture and as mentioned a functioning dilapidated family home. From Cattails painted along the river’s edge to the broken down house with dying branches draped over the walls and roofs, a dangerous looking stuffed cat they keep in the sugar bean shed, a water pump that works and enough dirt and wood chips to bury Sisser’s dead bug collection, it looks like a place I would not want to be at night. Tony Bejarano designed the appropriate clothes and Chad Oakley’s lighting set the mood, which was mostly dark.
Director Rob Conway and his ensemble are to be commended for their fine work in bringing out the surprise elements of the play. That said some of the acting was uneven (the night I saw it) leaving gaps in the action and pauses for no apparent reason. More attention to diction and less mumbling will go a long way in allowing the audience to improve their understanding of the curse under which the Bean family lives, but it is scary.
It’s worth a try, but hurry. It ends on Nov. 3rd.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through Nov. 3rd
Organization: OnStage Playhouse
Phone: 619-422-7787
Production Type: Gothic Thriller
Where: 291 Third Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91910
Ticket Prices: $17.00-$22.00
Web: onstageplayhouse.org
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Davis is a San Diego based theatre critic. She may be contacted at carol.davis@sdjewishworld.com