[NoHo Arts District, CA] – NoHo Theatre Review of Art Crush LA’s From the Perspective of a Canoe, the award-winning play by award-winning Los Angeles playwright Amy Dellagiarino, September 12 through September 27 at hi5.agency Studio in Pasadena.
From the Perspective of a Canoe finds unexpected humor in the unthinkable as a family struggles with the devastating aftermath of one man’s horrific act.
This is my first visit to the hi5.agency Studio in Pasadena, a lovely venue with a great outdoor space…perfect for this show set in a backyard on the Fourth of July. Art Crush LA produced this extremely funny and thought-provoking play by the much-honored Amy Dellagiarino.
The play revolves around Tess, who we meet waking up in a canoe in her parents’ garden on the Fourth of July. The last couple of days have been fraught for Tess. Her husband, without any warning, walked into a local grocery store and killed a lot of people before turning the gun on himself. She can’t go home because it is surrounded by the press. She can’t go inside because she feels totally removed from reality. So the canoe is her place of safety for the time being, and since the rest of her family also have no idea how to deal with this, they seem happy to leave her there…for now.
Her mother does what some mothers would; she retreats into her immediate world. There was going to be a Fourth of July BBQ, and to survive this, there would still be burgers and lemonade and bunting, or the sky would fall. Her father is along for the ride, so to speak, and her two siblings are present, but not willing or particularly able.
It is the mess one might expect it to be. And although the tragedy is not taken lightly, this is a comedy. Be it a very dark one. But this play is not about the shooting, it’s about the aftermath for the family of the shooter. Particularly the wife, Tess. I think we must have all wondered what it might be like for this particular type of victim of this uniquely American tragedy. I know I have. Every day there are terrible shootings, small and large. How could most of us have any idea what becomes of the relatives of the murderers or how they cope? This play offers a window into that world in the days right after the shooting, before the shock wears off and the accusations fly.
From the Perspective of a Canoe is a brilliant, insightful ponder on the fallout a husband’s terrible act causes.
“He was always a bit odd” was the line that stood out for me, but when does odd become psychotic or something to be concerned about when nothing is said? Nothing is hinted at or gestating clearly enough to be noticed. “You didn’t know?” Was another line that came up a few times. Well, of course Tess didn’t know, or she would have done something. But it is an almost irresistible thing to ask, isn’t it?
From the Perspective of a Canoe is beautifully written. Balanced, poignant, deliberately non-accusatory, funny but not dismissive. The characters are real, exactly who we know them to be.
Mother, father, sister, brother, sister-in-law. All trying to be kind and cool and not to fall apart themselves. And not doing a great job at it. These are human beings trying to get their heads around the unthinkable. But since this is set two days after the shooting, we can totally understand why they are where they are. Adrift, literally and figuratively. Hoping that the routine of a family holiday will just get them through the next few hours and maybe the next few days. Not expecting too much. All broken. All shattered.
These are wonderful performances from actors I have seen many times in plays at some of the best theatres in Los Angeles. They are nuanced, hilarious, truthful and honest. They find their way through the play as they might find their way through the worst thing that they could ever imagine. Knowing a person the way they knew Tess’s husband and then trying to equate that with what he did…an impossible task. But one they try to do with all the grace they can muster…which at this still raw moment is very little grace at all. They are only human after all and every character seems to begin right there. Be human. Be sad and shaken and dark and then go from there.
I loved this play! From the Perspective of a Canoe is a strangely riveting foray into darkness in lives not equipped for this stuff. Trying to see each other clearly. Grieving and ashamed. Terrified and angry. Protective and guilty. So many emotions, it’s easy to see how they might spiral. This family is holding on to each other, even though they were taught to be independent and self sufficient and resilient. Grown ups are still someone’s kid, after all. And when the darkness falls like this, it’s understandable that Tess seeks out a canoe in her parents’ garden and her family lets her sit in it.
I highly recommend From the Perspective of a Canoe. What a wonderful, thoughtful play in a beautiful setting! Bravo!!
When:
September 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 & 27
6:00 p.m.
Where:
hi5.agency Studio, 35 E Villa St, Pasadena
Tickets:
https://www.artcrush.la/event-list
The Cast
Joe J Garcia
Ashley Hsu
Maria Kress
Mo LeBlanc
James Lemire
Anastasia Rutkowski
Elizabeth Williams
The Creative Team
Playwright: Amy Dellagiarino
Director: Brooklyn Sample
Producer: Travis Williams for Art Crush LA
Stage Manager: MJ Rojas
Marketing, Art Direction & Set Design: Matt Sample