By Eva Trieger
LA JOLLA, California — Sure, we’ve all seen actors warming up by reciting tongue twisters or singing scales to loosen up their vocal cords, doing yoga poses or lunges to limber up and get their creative juices flowing, but watching hours of squirrel videos? Studiously ogling nature documentaries of squirrels eating, sparring, and having sex? That’s precisely how Tony winning artistic director, Christopher Ashley, prepared his Broadway-seasoned cast for La Jolla Playhouse, The Squirrels, world premiere, penned by Robert Askins (Hand to God).
Ostensibly, the play is about warring factions of squirrels bracing for winter. The wealthy Gray Squirrels and the impoverished Fox Squirrels vie for nuts and preferred status in their tree. A socio-political battle ensues as the tension between groups is heightened when a young Gray Squirrel, Chordata (Lakisha May), is smitten with the renegade Fox Squirrel, Carolinensus (Marcus Terrell Smith). It’s a bitter pill for her father, Scurius (Terence Archie), to burrow in his cheeks. Enter the interloper, Sciuridae (Brad Oscar), whose greed and conniving fan the flames of the class struggle between the don’t haves and the have nuts.
Perhaps, most impressive is the choreography. Clearly those hours of studious observation have paid off. Watching the quirky frenetic movements of these actors, the audience is convinced of their squirrleyness. They dart, pivot, and cock their heads thanks to Anjanette Maraya-Ramey’s direction. Additionally, they bark, “muck” and coo when warranted. These rodents are even more convincing with their creative costumes of bushy tails and clawed feet with credit to Paloma Young, an alumna of UCSD MFA program.
The 24-foot tree, center stage, the Spartan focal point for the play, was designed by two-time Tony winner, Beowulf Boritt. The scaffolding enables the actors to take the audience with them as they scurry up and down, deepening the plot.
The play pushes boundaries of human relationships. Loyalty, envy, greed, and incest are all topics explored by the rodents, but mirror the current climate in America, and perhaps the world. Our sympathies extend to the poor rebel army of the starving Fox Squirrels, and yet, we don’t enjoy the ostracism and decline of Scurius, the head of the Gray Squirrel family. His character is written as a sympathetic, reasonable entity, even when he scarfs up all of the nuts and becomes so obese that he cannot be easily rescued from his hiding place.
This dark comedy is interesting and has moments of humor as well as scientific edification. A power point at the show’s start provides many fascinating squirrel facts and sheds new light on the activities of our furry friends. Can we infer so much about human interactions from observing our rodent relatives? I, for one, hope that Homo sapiens do not overlap too closely with the Sciurus carolinensis or Sciurus niger. Although I harbor little animosity for squirrels, I’d rather not spend my autumn hoarding nuts and burying them in secretive stashes, hoping I’ll remember where I put them come winter!
The Squirrels will be running until July 8th at The Forum Theater on the UCSD campus. Tickets may be purchased at LaJollaPlayhouse.org.
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Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She ma be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com