CATF's 'Dead and Breathing' is alive and kickin'

Lizan Mitchell is "Carolyn," the patient, and N.L. Graham is "Veronika" in Dead and Breathing by Chisa Hutchinson at CATF/Photo by Seth Freeman

At the Contemporary American Theater Festival underway at Shepherd University in Shepardstown, West Virginia, every single attendee I spoke with enthusiastically praised the acting in each of the five new plays of the 2014 season, which would definitely include the portrayals in Dead and Breathing by Chisa Hutchinson.

Two actors, a hospice nurse and her patient, consumed by her dying days, make up Dead's cast. Not a particularly uplifting subject but comedy was promised in the promotion, and it delivered that, and more.  Too much in some instances. 

The production fulfills CATF's goals to be a daring story of diversity, innovation, and one which links the audience with the work.  All five plays have been written in the last year or two.

The new nurse, Veronika (craftily acted by N.L. Graham), arrives at the home of the negative and bitter, sarcastic and unsmiling, humorless and old (she would have been old at 28) rich patient, Carolyn, brilliantly acted by Lizan Mitchell.  Veronika is a nurse, after all, whose mission is to nurture her patient and live happily ever after?

Any sunshine in Carolyn's life disappeared long ago, and she greedily waits for approaching death which will extinguish the lights of her sorry existence. Her frowns become lines in concrete, permanently etched upon her dry face. She is tightly coiled, from her covered head to her mean spirit, ready to strike fast at anything which impedes her goal to die now and get it over with.  She scowls often, turning her mouth upside down.

The characters sling it out with all the obscene language we have grown to expect in contemporary theatre.   They are not of the same school, you see.

Their lines are biting. You may think these things, but civility demands restraint, and aren't we glad?

The play opens with a full frontal nudity scene of Carolyn stepping in and out of the bath tub with Veronika's help while we have to witness another nude scene when Veronika steps away momentarily to answer the door. The patient disrobes again and attempts suicide with a hair dryer in the bath tub filled with water. Right.  (That must have been b-r-r-r cold water, but if so, Ms. Mitchell covered her shivers with aplomb.)
   
While Veronika tidies up the patient and the surroundings, wipes her clean after Carolyn urinates in the toilet (please), Veronika preaches the Gospel to her patient, urging Carolyn to adopt the Gospel, too. 

The exchanges present opposing viewpoints, and if the Almighty and hereafter are not enough, other contemporary issues are thrown in for good measure. 

The two set up an exchange (you scratch my eyes out and I'll scratch yours): Rather than an eye for an eye, how about an exchange of murder and Jesus for cash?  I told you it was a comedy.

"Veronika" (N.L. Graham) gets ready to stick it to the patient in Dead and Breathing at CATF/Photo by Seth Freeman

Carolyn calls her attorney to make Veronika the beneficiary of Carolyn's $27 million estate if Veronika will just agree to murder Carolyn with a nice shot to the neck and get the damned life over.  If you'll accept Jesus Christ in your heart, I'll kill you.  As simple as that. 

Makes sense, no?  What would you do? 

The dilemmas presented are excellent, and the audience wrestles with self-doubt. Don't do it! I found myself imploring her.  (Which her?)

My ending differed from the playwright's.  I fully expected the stage to darken with answers left to the audience to determine. 

The age of the playwright, 34, comes as a shock, for the dialogue suggests experience far beyond someone so young, someone who knows about the closing of life. Ms. Hutchinson has multiple sclerosis who cared for her own mother, ill with cancer.

Congratulations to the director, Kristin Horton. The set (by Luciana Stecconi) was nicely divided into a full bathroom (with real tub, toilet and sink) and the patient's sitting room.

(In the program the playwright complains about repetitive plays about married white women contemplating divorce. Well, you know what? I am tired of seeing naked white/black/ brown/orange women on stage. Where are the naked men? That a man could have played this part, and we could have seen a full monty male nude twice might help dispel the notion that all old women are bitter, uncompromising, hateful creatures. I know a few old coots. Give us naked men.)

Shepherd University is just a little over an hour's beautiful drive from D.C. in the delightfully "quaint" town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, founded in 1762, where free lectures, discussions, late-night salons, workshops, and more are part of the festival.

For another review of Dead and Breathing and other CATF productions and area performances, click DC Metro Theater Arts.

What:  Dead and Breathing by Chisa Hutchinson

When: The five new plays in the Contemporary American Theater Festival are staged in rotating repertory, Wednesday through Sunday afternoons and evenings through August 3, 2014.

Where:  Shepherd University, Shepardstown, WVA

Tickets: $59 for single seats with discounts for military, students, seniors, families, those under age 30, and West Virginia residents, plus four and five-show discount packages starting at $100. The 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday shows are $30. Use Code CATF20 to save 20% on single ticket purchases.

For more information: 800-999-2283 or 304-876-3473

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Olney's 'I and You' is unforgettable

Rachael Tice and Thaddeus Fitzpatrick in Lauren Gunderson's I and You now on stage at Olney Theatre/photo by Stan Barouh

It hums along at a great pace but the ending will leave you gasping.

While you predict the last scene, be ready to drop jaw.

I thought it was only for teens and college students. I was wrong.

The Olney Theatre Center has gloriously exploded in production:  The King and I, Chorus Line, and now, I and You. 

Jason Loewith, Olney's artistic director, beamed when he talked before and after the production about his focus on new plays and female playwrights, including Lauren Gunderson who wrote I and You and was on hand Saturday night to witness the glowing reception her play received by a stunned crowd.

Loewith proudly announced I and You is a finalist for the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award.  After you see it, you'll know why and that it will win.

Loewith noted that theatres have to concentrate on sure-fire winners to produce income which enables theatres to survive, thrive, and experiment with new material like I and You.

Rachael Tice and Thaddeus Fitzpatrick in Lauren Gunderson's I and You now on stage at Olney Theatre/photo by Stan Barouh

And back to it: The plot captures an afternoon in the lives of two teenagers, the entire cast, who grapple with the issues of today and always:  self, others, purpose, life and death.  Starring in their conversation is a gift for English teachers everywhere:  Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.  (Were copies sold in the lobby?) The youngsters use the book to read sections to each other while working on a joint Whitman project for a class.

Social media is spot-on.  The girl, Caroline (Rachael Tice) is ill and confined to her home.  She texts her mother downstairs. Anthony (Thaddeus Fitzpatrick), a high school classmate, drops in, seeking help on their project, and his poster reveals he needs it, all right. Maybe a fourth-grader crafted it.

That Caroline likes Elvis movies (!), John Lennon and Jerry Lee Lewis (!), and Anthony favors Miles Davis and John Coltrane without any mention of current artists that I heard, is a reach to older audiences, I suppose.

The play of just 80 minutes takes place in three scenes in Caroline's jammed and "messy" (she says; she don't know what "messy" is) bedroom of books, pictures, posters, red bedding, and a "turtle," the significance of which I still ponder.

Their conversation is so today and so "teen talk." They say what adults wonder about, but don't state or ask.  For a while, Caroline is damaged goods and seeking help.  The roles reverse, and Anthony becomes the wounded.  They call each other "weird."  She calls him "Senator."  He calls her "Senator Shut-In."  They banter and knock each other. She talks exactly like every teenaged girl I've ever been around.

Some parts were just "weird," too, like Caroline showing no curiosity about the dead classmate's name or that her mother never showed up or communicated, wondering what was going on upstairs in her daughter's bedroom where a strange boy had parked himself for hours.

Towards the end the script began to drift a little, but then...

I and You is director Eleanor Holdridge's first play at the Olney where she skilfully managed the actors who obviously revel in their roles.

After the play, Ms. Tice and Mr. Fitzpatrick excitedly talked a little about their backgrounds and how jubilant they are to be at the Olney. For the role Ms. Tice auditioned in her hometown, New York, where Mr. Fitzpatrick is a transplant from the University of Alabama where he studied theatre. This spring Ms. Tice makes her film debut in Slider.

They are such a twosome and will travel next to Rochester to act in the play there, another stop in the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.

For her terrific and special effects, lighting designer Nancy Schertler gets special kudos.  Those dark colored bulbs in the beginning didn't fool me. I was hoping they would light up sooner or later. 

Other important people in the production:  Dan Conway, scenic designer, Ivania Stack, costumes,  Matthew M. Nielson, sound, Becky Reed, stage manager, and Amy Marshall, managing director.  Bravo!

What: I and You

When:  Extended until March 30, 2014

Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832

How much: Tickets start at $48.50.

Parking:  Abundant, free, and on-site

For more information:301-924-3400

For more area productions and reviews, click DC Metro Theater Arts.


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