By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — The Old Globe Theater usually gets really talented professional equity actors for its shows. Tony award winner Appropriate is no different. The all-star cast deliver a compelling performance; every single one of them deserves recognition.
The set by Arbel Sanciano is incredible. He built a beautiful old crumbling plantation home and no detail is spared. Unlike some of the minimalist sets that have been popular lately, this set is incredibly detailed and complete, including some phenomenal engineering for special effects to later have the house fall apart.
The story itself is challenging. Basically, three estranged siblings and their families reconnect in their old childhood home after their father’s death. They are there to liquidate all the property before the home sells to pay off the bank liens. We learn through their constant bickering that they blame each other for many things. We also learn that dear old dad may have been a racist and an antisemite.
The siblings don’t want to believe that of their father. When daughter-in-law Rachel (Sarah Styles) says that she heard their dad refer to her as “his Jew wife,” the eldest sibling Toni (Maggie Lacey) makes excuses for it and doesn’t want to believe it of her dad.
But then Rachel’s kids (Serena Parrish and Daniel/ Christopher Smyres) discover a photo album full of photos of lynchings and other violence against Black people and the family has to wonder if it’s a part of their dad they never knew about. Middle brother Bo (Steve Kazee) admits that in retrospect there were a few incidents with his dad that he had laughed off as no big deal that might have been clues to their dad’s secret feelings, like his refusal to shake his Black roommate’s hand, or even those of his new Jewish in-laws at the wedding. When they also find a Klan hood, it’s pretty clear that dad had a secret life and they have to grapple with what that means.
In the meantime, the youngest brother Franz (Daniel Petzold) under the guidance of his young hippie fiancée River (Brynn Gauthier) is there to try to work the 12-steps out of addiction and make amends. He gets a lot of resistance and pushback from Toni who had to pick up the pieces when their mom died and raise her brothers. She’s not ready to forgive.
There was one moment in the play that was super relatable to me. Toni’s 17-year old son Rhys (Daniel Dale) is uncomfortable sleeping on the couch, so she asks him if he wants to sleep in grandpa’s room with her and is met with a resounding “no.” She stands there sadly looking at him for a moment trying to figure out how to connect with him, and then asks if she can have a hug, which he grudgingly gives her. This scene is one that any parent of a teenager might recognize.
But back to the play, it’s a long one, running 2 ½ hours with a 15-min intermission, and while there are moments of levity, it’s an intense show. Because it deals with the themes of racism and trauma, there is a quiet room guests can go to if things become too intense for them.
The show runs through Feb 23.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World
We saw this show last night. There was a lot my husband and I had to talk about on the way home. Although we liked the show, the non-Jewish couple we went with did not like it so much. I don’t think they really got some of the meaning and the history.