[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville, written by Julie Shavers, directed by Daniel O’Brien and starring Gigi Bermingham and Mamie Gummer at the Whitefire Theatre through May 1.
Set in a typical small town in Louisiana, The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville is a beautifully drawn character play. Four generations of women under one roof over the Fourth of July weekend offers up a myriad of potential plots and subterfuge. But this warmly funny and deeply honest play meanders through the lives of these women without the need for high drama or life-altering events. It is a window on their world with all the nuance, honesty and lies that any family might have, but with a Southern Baptist twist.
Three sisters, one mama, one grandmama and a fiery granddaughter all vying for slices of attention from each other. Their conversations roaming from childhood to future and everything in between. These are the kinds of conversations women have with each other when there are no fears of tempers or tantrums, of broken hearts or promises. When you have love that is as deep and old as this imperfect family does, then whatever happens happens and the truth is always aimed for, even if, in the end, it emerges a little tattered and torn.
I am from a family of three sisters and I held my breath through most of this delightful and sweet, hilarious and heartfelt play. Don’t get me wrong, these women are as strong as any warrior, and they show that strength in a wonderful tapestry of ways. Each as different from each other as they are alike. They battle and embrace with an aspirational depth of understanding.
The performances are as you might expect from the calibre of actors in this cast, all absolutely superb. A magical mix of a cast that befits the ‘witches’ name. Each actress embodying their roles, channeling the personality of the fictional characters with an authenticity that extends far beyond the usual.
Some would search for similarities or mirroring when creating relationships such as these. But these people and their brilliant director ignore the obvious and instead make this family real with every kind of difference and uncomfortable opposite. Close families don’t have to be the same and these women are in many ways as different from each other as strangers, while holding all their secrets for eternity.
This beautiful and subtle technique gives this play a gravitas that a story so simple could easily pass on.
It’s the attention to detail. The invisible and yet unmissable connection between everyone that gives the audience a voyeuristic role. Every turn of a head, every gesture, every mumble, moan, cry and laughter all utterly perfect and completely believable.
It hardly felt as if we were watching a play at all. As if, at any moment, any of them could walk into the audience and take a seat.
The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville is a masterpiece. A gorgeous reminder that women need only each other and some time to talk together to make as compelling a play as any dramatic action-filled concoction. It was riveting. Enchanted. Bewitching. I was absolutely charmed to death by everyone on stage sharing their July 4th weekend in the sticky southern heat. What a treat to sit in a little theatre in Sherman Oaks and share an hour or two with such masters of storytelling!!! Miss this at your peril!!!
Tickets:
https://whitefire.stagey.net/projects/13984?tab=tickets
When:
April 3-May 1
Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM
Where:
The Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
The Baptist Witches of Shelbyville Cast:
Gigi Bermingham* as Mama Moon (leading roles at Pasadena Playhouse, The Old Globe, La Mirada, Kirk Douglas, and others. For her solo comedy Non-Vital Organs Gigi received the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Natalie Schafer Award and an Ovation award for “Solo Performance,” and another L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award for “Leading Actress” as Maria Callas in Master Class); Mamie Gummer* as Lucinda (off-Broadway premiere of Mr. Marmalade, for which she won a Theatre World Award. The Classic Stage Company’s Uncle Vanya – Lucille Lortel Nomination, The Water’s Edge (Lucille Lortel Nomination) for The Second Stage, and the Tony®-Award nominated revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Gummer received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Actress in the Roundabout Theatre’s Ugly Lies the Bone. Julie Shavers as Birdie Moon (indie-theater all-star – Margo Veil at The Flea Theater/NYC, her own work in Silver Bullet Trailer, If We Never Win, Healing Old Wounds, and Pig); Angelie Simone as Lottie Walker (currently plays Amália in the mockumentary series In House; and on stage in Tweet Tweet at the Hudson Theatre, Los Angeles); Ashley Ward as Kitty (Three Months Later the new musical starring Kristen Bell and Leah Thompson, written by David Wain, Zach Reino, and Jessica McKenna. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Off-Broadway in 50 Shades! The Musical Parody. A regular with musical improv group Baby Wants Candy and Hamilton at UCB, Jane Austen Unscripted and Sondheim Unscripted with Impro She is a Jeopardy! champion.