[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Moving Arts & Leap in the Dark Productions’ Sorry., created by Melissa R. Randel and co-directed by Larry Biederman.
In many ways Sorry. is a very complicated, nuanced and layered exploration of the female life as an apology. However, after sitting through this two-and-a-half-hour stunning opus and reflecting on the themes, the stories and the characters within it, Sorry. crystallised into something impressively simple. Don’t comply. Live.
Three women, three stories. Lilian, a wife and mother from the 19th century who was married off at 15, kept continuously pregnant, and institutionalized for falling in love with a woman. Francine, a lawyer who looks the other way when her female colleague is harassed and then fired. And Persephone, the goddess, submissive wife of Hades and some might say the ultimate personification of complicity in her own fate.
Yet, none of these stories are at all straightforward. Just like all of us and our own histories, they are complex, full of self doubt and hidden agendas, some unknown even to us. The men in this play, and there are a few and all very cleverly played by one really brilliant actor, are childlike and brutal. Although they might believe they love passionately, furiously, their behaviour is usually just furious.
The story is told in repeated scenes, circular and profoundly familiar. The opening scene is shocking and unapologetic, the women standing on chairs with simulated nooses around their necks. Unable to vocalise their breaking. As hard as they try. As hard as they scream. It’s vivid and realistic. As much as most of this play is symbolic and metaphorical, the women and these incredible actresses’ performances are not. They are heartbreakingly real, and it’s the combination of the symbolism, the mystical realism and the achingly real women that might be our sisters, our mothers, our friends…us, that shatters our hearts the most. It’s all symbolism, isn’t it? The submissive mother. The caretaker wife. The relentless depiction of women as the willing servants, always available, always happy to be in second place. “The women behind every successful man.” Entwined into these compelling and truthful stories are the furies. Three witchy women clothed in rags. Dispersing truths and harsh reminders to these disparate souls. Protecting them with cold, hard reality. Not their consciences, but their ancestral souls. We have been tricked, bamboozled, conned into becoming so much less than we are. To make men first, we have had to step back. Not once but twice. To stand behind and hide our power.
Sorry. isn’t all men bashing, though. That’s actually part of the point. We have forgotten who we are willingly. To find our power, we have to own it, and that’s not always easy. Taking control. Forging our own way against a multitude of resistance and millennia of lies and oppression. Forgiving ourselves for being human…gosh, even that bloody word reeks of it. Hu-man. Man-kind. After seeing this play, I think I’m going to watch my language a little more closely. Words have meaning. It’s words that pressed us into submission in the first place. Words written in so called ancient religious texts, words written by old men, and then interpreted over and over again by more old men.
Sorry. is a beautiful, mystical visceral piece of theatre. It aims not merely to educate but to push us to remember. Remember who we are as women. Remember who to be loyal to. Remember, our past must not determine our future. Unless you go all the way back. To when women ruled the earth and all was well in the world. I’ll take that history, please!
Sorry runs through July 19th!! Highly recommended!!
Tickets:
https://movingarts.ludus.com/index.php
When:
June 20 – July 19
Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at4pm
(No performances Saturday, June 28 and Friday, July 4)
NOTE: Sunday, July 6 at 4pm is a special performance for breast cancer survivors and caregivers. Admission is free for survivors and caregivers.
Where:
Moving Arts
3191 Casitas Ave, Atwater Village
Sorry. Cast
Lea Floden as Lillian
Anna Giannotis as Fury
Jeffrey Johnson as The Men
Denise Leitner as Fury
Melissa R Randel as Persephone
Denise Scheerer as Fury
Jacqueline Wright as Francine
The Team
Playwright – Melissa R Randel
Co-Director – Larry Biederman
Producer – Dana Schwartz
Set Designer – Justin Huen
Lighting Designer – Brandon Baruch
Sound Designer – Sloe Slawinski
Costume Designer – Rosalida Medina
Stage Manager – Ashley Weaver
Graphics – Michelle Hanzelova
Publicity – Sandra Kuker PR (Sandra Kuker-Franco)
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