(:)(:)(:)(:)(:) Five enthusiastic snouts up (see Understanding the Snout-Based Rating System) for The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse on the Capital Stage through July 22nd. It’s no small trick to create a play that is edgy, brilliant, thought-provoking (all hallmarks of the Capital Stage canon) and also hilariously funny and fun. By grappling with the question of how to write a play examining Native American issues without any Native American actors, playwright Larissa FastHorse has done it all.
The play centers around 4 teachers/actors attempting to “devise” a new more culturally sensitive Thanksgiving play for elementary school children. The two lead characters sound more like an episode of Portlandia than your average play–hilarious caricatures of well-meaning white progressives. At the top of the show, the Yoga Guy/Street performer boyfriend (Cassidy Brown) gives his failed Actress/Elementary school teacher/Director girlfriend (Jennifer Le Blanc) the ultimate sensitive gift: a water bottle crafted from the recycled glass from broken public housing windows. She is so touched. It only gets better from there.
The two other actors, a sexy actress (Gabby Battista) whose heritage we begin to determine from L.A. and a nerdy teacher/would be playwright (Jouni Kirjola) in town, are wonderful too. The teacher/director lady is the lead straight man around whom the other 3 land great jokes.
Director Michael Stevenson (also the Artistic Director of Capital Stage) has done it again with direction that enhances but does not detract from the work–funny funny physicality in this play brings laughs that surely not every production could manage.
Listen, I gotta run and this is only up for another week–see it and tell all your friends!