[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Here Be Dragons, written and directed by Charlie Moun, playing at The Whitefire Theatre through March 11.
The last time I saw Charlie Mount on stage was eight years ago at The Whitefire Theatre again with his Martians, An Evening with Ray Bradbury. Isn’t it wild how time moves so quickly? Anyway, I loved his interpretation of Ray Bradbury and all his dreams and foibles. I bring it up not just to give some context to Charlie Mount and his work, but because The Martian Chronicles, and probably all of Ray Bradbury’s books, would, in his new play, Here Be Dragons, be almost certainly banned.
Set in the Midwest, Here Be Dragons chronicles the semi-fictional story of a small school grappling with the death of a beloved teacher of bible studies, gunned down by a disgruntled citizen bent on protecting the world from education.
In the aftermath, the school council is meeting to decide whether or not to include “Intelligent Design,” which is basically creationism, in their upcoming semester. Fear has driven them to consider appeasing those more than a few religious extremists tucked away in otherwise quite normal neighborhoods. When the teacher was shot she was standing next to a child, who was unharmed physically, but he was of course, utterly traumatized. It is his mother who is at the forefront of this. A religious woman who finds herself in desperate need to ‘do something.’ And while I am sure we can all understand the reasons why she would embrace this, there is a battle ahead for her.
She brings with her the current expert on intelligent design. A man who purports to have scientifically proved that for man to have evolved from primordial goo, there could be no other explanation for it to have happened in the proposed timeline than for it to have been guided by the hand of god. Oh, and he also believes, of course, that Evolution is just a theory…unproven. He has created a syllabus on this nutty proposition, and it is this class that the school board must vote for. To rebut his position is another author, studied in his field and well positioned to examine this erroneous argument. His adopted brother and fierce critic of extreme religious doctrine taught in schools. They have debated before, but it’s been 20 years since they have been in the same room. So tensions are high!
The scene is set. The debate is on. And the stakes couldn’t be higher for the brothers, the school board and the parents of the little boy who now barely speaks.
Although the writing is flawless and nuanced, it is the performances that make this play. Charlie Mount plays the sane brother and Jim Beaver the crazy one. Although, to be fair, he doesn’t play him as crazy and he is very convincing.
Corine Shor plays the terrified mother who turns to her church for guidance and her husband, who couldn’t disagree with her more, is played by George Tovar, and their tension is palpable. Two wonderful actors with an intense connection.
Everyone is really excellent. Embracing their roles and their disparate positions with glee. Teaching is such an often thankless job. Navigating politics, religion, kids, parents and the shameful lack of resources often makes me wonder why anyone would put themselves through it. But, also, I really can see how it might be the greatest job in the world.
This is a play about extremes. Ideas and theories aside, it’s a ruthless trick to give people “science” wrapped in superstition as if that somehow makes it more believable or easier to swallow. When we are put in positions of terrible stress and sorrow and impossible choices, those that stop offering solutions should be treated with deep suspicion. Life is not neatly explained away. Terrible things can and do happen every day…lately many times a day. So how perfect it feels to be given a blunt instrument to use when what we really need is to wait and to think and to feel and to love. It is only human to be reactionary, especially in a time of pain and feelings of futility and helplessness. But there lie monsters…or dragons.
Here Be Dragons is a brilliant and deeply perceptive play about the frailty of people under pressure and how easy it is a destroy progress when you have all the power and none of the impartiality. Wonderfully written, beautifully acted. Bravo!
Tickets:
https://whitefire.stagey.net/projects/13156?tab=details
When:
February 4-March 11
Wednesdays only.
Where:
The Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA, 91423
The Cast
Charlie Mount, Jim Beaver, Anne Leyden, George Tovar, Scottie Nevil, Meg Lin, John Combs, Corinne Shor.
The Team
Written and directed by Charlie Mount
Mitch Rosander – Stage Manager
Philip Sokoloff – Publicity
Neda Ganjeh Tabe – Front of House Manager
Bryan Rasmussen – Whitefire Artistic Director