REVIEW: The Squirrels at Trustus Theatre by Clayton King

As the lights went down on The Squirrels, currently on stage at Trustus Theatre, I turned to the person sitting next to me and said, “I need to process what I just saw.” The play’s message is simple, but the plot is challenging to explain, in the same way that our current socio-political situation is simple, but deceptive and convoluted. Still, it is easy to recommend this show as a must-see for Columbia audiences.

Rather than attempting to explain the entire plot, suffice it to say Robert Askins’ script seems to invite questioning. The play offers a rich, comedic view of a darker understory in which small animals exist in a civilization (‘squirld’) that mimics the ‘world’ at large. The strong parallels between this heretofore unknown society of mammals and our current climate are unmistakable. And all while, the audience is entertained with fast-paced dialogue and action.

The Scientist, played by Jonathan Monk, opens the show with a combination pre-show speech and educational primer on the world of squirrels. The slide show includes Trustus’ season flyer, and the audience is thanked for its open-mindedness in coming to see this show. In his “lesson,” the Scientist remarks:

“And you’re like musical. Okay. Thinky play about thinky things all the way from New York. Sure. Duh. Then what’s this? Squirrels? Other people might go, ‘BAWHA? A play about squirrels? What?’ Not you. You said, ‘Okay.’ You said, ‘I’m curious.’ You said, ‘Give me some.’ And some you shall have. Buckle up, you discerning patron of the arts. Because we are going to get scientifical, because SQUIRRELS ARE FASCINATING.

From this moment on, the basic tenet of theatre that audiences are invited to “suspend disbelief” becomes the top order, as one often forgets these are actual humans on the stage portraying actual squirrels. The absurdity of it all wraps itself around you while constantly pulling you into the world of these animals.

Jonathan Monk’s comedic timing and ability are in full force and alone are worth the price of admission.

Director Martha Hearn has assembled a wonderful cast to tell this story, and the production quality is outstanding. The audience is aptly and elegantly transported into this ‘squirld,’ with the cast adopting the behavior, mannerisms, and sounds of squirrels so completely that “suspending disbelief” was easy. Each actor dons an absurd, enormously fluffy tail as a means of self-identification, which only furthers the premise of both ridiculousness and creative genius.

Jonathan Monk’s comedic timing and ability are in full force and alone are worth the price of admission. This is rivaled only by his sinister and Machiavellian portrayal later as Scuridae. Add to that Terrance Henderson’s masterful performance as Sciurus, the aging head of an established, wealthy family of grey squirrels. He is both funny and appalling as he struggles to keep his sanity, family, and large cache of nuts. He has the power, and as the top squirrel in his tree, Sciurus resists sharing his hoard with the hungry, fox squirrels.

In a sort of “rebel with a cause” flair, Patrick Dodds (Carolinensis) earnestly leads his squirrels in an insurrection and quest to secure nuts for his group's basic needs. His forbidden love interest, Chordata, is Sciurus’ daughter and the heart of the play. Courtney Sims’ portrayal of the character is sympathetic and guides the audience through the play, embodying a character who struggles to find balance and fairness with a strong will and full heart.

A standout as Rodentia, Abigail Lee McNeely loves her adopted father, Scurius, with an impure adoration that antagonizes her adopted mother’s status as the tree matriarch. Rodentia’s wantonness is a pathological cover for her loneliness and need for affection, as she is an outsider living on the inside of a dynasty. In the role of Mammalia, the matriarch of the Scurius clan, Erin Wilson offers both a caring, warm-hearted mother figure and a hard, brutal side on full display as the play closes -- think of an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove. The audience experienced a euphoric moment, reminiscent of King Joffrey’s dramatic death (non-sequitur reference to Game of Thrones), as she struck the killing blow. It was jubilant and met with thunderous applause!

 Rounding out the cast are ensemble players Olivia Wamai and Nicole Perez, who serve as members of the insurrection and help move the action along with fluidity.

Everyone on stage so expertly embodied what one would consider “typical” squirrel behavior; it was uncanny and highly entertaining. The cast had a wonderful play space to work with on Corey Langley’s imaginative and effective sets. The scale of all the spaces on stage reminds us that we are watching squirrels (human-sized ones) in places like tree-top lairs, underground havens, and bird houses. Costume designer Rachel Turner creatively meets the challenge of providing character-appropriate garb for each player. And did I mention the tails? Character makeup suggests an animalistic appearance without becoming a caricature in motion. Light and Sound Design by Laura Anthony Robbie and Jacob Olano, respectively, were perfect for the task of enhancing the production.

One must also give a huge nod to Kathleen Pennyway, who serves as the production’s Intimacy Coordinator. The prolific world of squirrels includes a great deal of mating (“mukking”), and this idea was evident, daring, and sensitively handled. Likewise, Patrick Michael Kelly’s fight choreography effectively captured what one would envision with squirrels fighting over nuts and dominance.

While there is a lot of information and machination to try to describe in The Squirrels, I can only say “go see it!” It is thought-provoking, comical, emotional, and ultimately, hopeful. The show’s runtime is two hours and 40 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission, yet the performances, individual and collective, are where the experience soars. In fact, after the show ended to an immediate standing ovation, I glanced at my watch and was surprised at the time; I had no idea how much time had passed and never felt a lull.

If Southern Gothic and theatre of the absurd had a love child, it would be The Squirrels. The telling of prejudice, inequality, and basic needs is the main point that resonates with most people today. The show runs April 17-May 3, and tickets are available online at trustus.org.

REVIEW: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill Brings Billie Holiday Back

“… the key to the success of this Trustus show lies squarely at the feet of the women involved in its production.”

Katrina Garvin as Billie Holiday - photo by Jerimiah Greene

Had you asked me last week if I knew who Billie Holiday was, I would have answered, Of course! Who doesn’t know about Billie Holiday? 

But I would have been wrong.

I learned how much I didn’t know about Billie Holiday last Saturday night when I attended the second performance of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill at Trustus Theatre, the company’s first presentation since quarantine.

Set in 1959 at the seedy South Philly Emerson’s Bar and Grill on a fictional night just before her death from Cirrhosis later that year, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, written by Lanie Robertson, takes the audience back in time and gives Holiday the microphone to do more than sing. Played by seasoned musical theatre artist Katrina Garvin, Billie Holiday tells her life story in provocative anecdotes in between performing more than a dozen of the title character’s classic tunes.

In an almost disturbingly casual manner we learn throughout the evening how the abuses of her childhood, including a rape at age 10, transformed Eleanora Fagan, which was Holiday’s birth name, into the stage’s Billie Holiday who adopted the name of her father, Clarence Halliday, a jazz musician who had abandoned her and her mother when Eleanora was born. We also learn about Holiday’s struggles with addiction and crippling insecurity both likely resulting from the institutional racism that plagued her professional life from the time she began singing in nightclubs in Harlem as a teenager, to her stint in prison by way of Carnegie Hall, until her untimely death at age 44.

Lady Day premiered in Atlanta in 1986 before moving to Off-Broadway and finally to Broadway in 2014 where it featured the incredible Audra McDonald in the title role. It is remarkable how well the play has held up and how fitting it is that Trustus Theatre decided to present it at this time of a renewed dedication to social justice in the country. The fact that it is essentially a one-woman show, with a musical accompanist, makes it a good choice in our quasi post-Covid times, too.

Lady Day opened to a sold-out Columbia audience and the house was almost full on Saturday, followed by another sold-out show on Sunday afternoon. I don’t expect many empty seats in the run of this show, and the key to the success of this Trustus show lies squarely at the feet of the women involved in its production.

Katrina Garvin, who most may remember from previous Trustus performances like Dreamgirls, In the Red Brown Water, and Constance performing under the name Katrina Blanding, was perfectly cast in the starring role as Billie Holiday. To say that Garvin embodies Holiday is an understatement. Keep in mind that Garvin already brings to the stage exceptional vocal skills but fortified with the wisdom imbued via direction from Jocelyn Sanders and backed up with dialect coaching by Marybeth Gorman and vocal coaching from Katie Leitner, Garvin subsequently delivers a performance that literally takes the audience’s breath away. And this is no small challenge given Holiday’s distinctive vocal stylings.

Garvin conveys all the same pain, frustration, and despondency that Holiday brought to the stage as well as the remarkable talent behind her interpretations of such difficult numbers as What a Little Moonlight Can Do and even Strange Fruit, one of the most painfully powerful songs ever written or performed.

Garvin’s stage partner, Shannon Pinkney in the role of Holiday’s piano accompanist, Jimmy Powers, more than holds up his corner of the stage with exceptional musical chops whether he accompanies Garvin or takes over the theatre for an extended solo while Garvin exits for a brief period near the end of the performance.

Terrance Henderson, Garvin’s musical partner in IndigoSOUL (along with Kendrick Marion), served as movement coach to Garvin, and Colleen Kelly served as stage manager for Sanders. Bad Boy Roy Brasley, Jr. styled Garvin’s hair into an elegant updo with a shock of white gardenias wrapped around the back; Abigail McNeely was costume designer; and Curtis Smoak handled lighting and the simple but convincing set for the show, easily creating the feeling that we were all sipping our drinks as we watched Lady Day at the end of her career and, sadder still, the premature end of her days.

Kudos to Trustus Theatre for bringing us back in our roles as audience members with the perfectly timed presentation of a play that reminds us of the power of art to confront the inadequacies of an imperfect culture.

Lady Day will run through June 20th on Thursdays through Sundays. For tickets and more information, visit Trustus.org.

And be sure to visit the lobby for an outstanding exhibit of art by Lori Isom. (See Below)

Art by Lori Isom.

REVIEW: Trustus Theatre's The Thanksgiving Play - by Patrick Michael Kelly

“Watching the show feels as close to an evening on Lady Street as possible - you can almost smell the Cromer’s popcorn.”

Trustus bills The Thanksgiving Play as “a woke comedy” and that’s apropos. Larissa FastHorse’s play follows four white people - Logan, Jaxton, Caden, and Alicia - in their attempt to creatively devise a culturally sensitive play about the First Thanksgiving for Native American Heritage Month. They stumble over many obstacles - mainly themselves and each other - on their quest to craft an engaging, equitable educational show and ultimately arrive at the simplest of conclusions that less is indeed more. 

FastHorse wastes no time establishing tone; we know what we’re in for from the jump. The play begins with a Thanksgiving rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” complete with Indian, Pilgrim, and turkey costumes, and choreography that the cast performs with full commitment. These surreal interludes - snippets from the play that might come from the group’s endeavor - recur throughout and serve to break up the realistic scenes with blasts of musical comedy. It’s a pleasing combination. 

Consumer culture, linguistic cliches, gender bias, social media, “upcycling”, vegans, etc. - all are placed on the altar or chopping block, whichever metaphor you’d prefer, and while this play’s glut of contemporary issues could feel tiresome, they are integrated perfectly with the story. Most effective are discussions about the fantasy of a “post-racial” society and what it means to be an ally, and a lovely scene between Alicia and Logan concerning the values of sex and beauty, the dangers of their commodification, and the value of their power. FastHorse tackles big issues head-on and lays out all the angles, but rather than smashing you over the head, she builds them in tactfully. 

FastHorse also skewers the craft and politics of theater expertly. Often, plays about making plays come off as obnoxious and cliquish, but The Thanksgiving Play manages to poke fun at devising, improv, warm-ups, and the like without alienating non-thespians. Furthermore, she squeezes in some terrific commentary about casting issues that plague the industry, from the well-past-timely death of so-called colorblind casting to the usual excuses of producers and directors about how hard it is to find ethnic actors to fill roles appropriately. At one point, Alicia mentions that she’s “maybe part-Spanish” so she should get to play all the Spanish roles because “it’s a drop thing.” We cringe, but it’s real. 

Kayla Cahill Machado is solid as Logan, the embattled high school drama teacher who needs this project to succeed - there’s grant money on the line and a professional actor in the room. Machado drives much of the action of the play and juggles empowering everyone with keeping the project on the rails. We feel her pain. 

Patrick Dodds brings his usual charm and affability to Jaxton, the yoga practitioner and “professional” actor. Jaxton’s heart is in the right place, but his desire to do right by everyone all the time gets in his way of being effective. Dodds’s Jaxton comes off a little too young and dumb at times, but the actor’s passion and vulnerability easily make up for it. 

Clint Poston as Caden is winning from his first entrance. He nails Caden’s enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge and drives the pace in much needed moments. Caden wants so badly to be useful and to have his hard-won authority recognized, and Poston channels his desperation with a sweetness that cuts through his pretension. 

Brittany Hammock plays Alicia (pronounced uh-LEE-see-ya, because of course it is), the self-centered actress with a “super-flexible” look to a tee. Her enthusiastic cluelessness and well-intentioned cynicism both give the group fits and inspire them to rethink their way of being. Hammock steals many scenes with her dry delivery.

Director Abigail McNeely has done a nice job making an ensemble out of her performers while allowing them to play to their strengths. The scenes are dynamic and flow nicely; McNeely clearly knows the story and where the most important parts are and highlights them to great success. The production suffers at times from pacing issues, particularly in the early going, but the actors find their footing as the action builds. The inventive staging and exciting feel of the interludes is a testament to the director’s expansive vision. 

It is a treat to see a true box set. Many contemporary plays are filmic in that they employ shorter scenes and multiple locations, making realism an impossibility. Film does realism better than theater, but a realistic stage production is still a satisfying endeavor for artists and audiences alike. FastHorse’s employment of a single location - outside of the musical interruptions - allows for the production team to create a fully inhabited world onstage. Scenic Designer Sam Hetler is up to the task; his set feels just like an American high school drama classroom. The attention to detail provides lots of little surprises for us to find, like old Columbia theater posters on the back wall and a masquerade-themed bulletin board urging us to “put your mask on.” Clever. 

Curtis Smoak’s lighting is cheery with just the right touch of industrial, mimicking the unpleasant wash of public fluorescents while warmly supporting the actors and the space they inhabit. The choice to forgo lighting shifts when two characters are having a private conversation in a public space is confusing; the helpful theatrical convention of separating the groups with light to assist the audience’s understanding should apply, even in a realistic piece like this. During the interludes, the lights shift dramatically to make the performers pop along with the musical numbers, giving it a bit of a rock cabaret vibe.

The recording of this production is well done. The shots and the sound are both clear and we get the feel of watching a play live and in person magnified through the camera’s eye and microphones. That said, shot selection is often static in the scenes and much more dynamic in the interludes, and the editing needs to split the difference more. More often than not, the scenes are played out in a wide shot with close-ups and two-shots few and far between. This might have been an attempt to preserve the piece as a play as much as possible, but if you’re going to make a film, make a film. 

That being said, it’s hard not to notice that the element that gives live theater its power is sorely missing here. As if comedy weren’t hard enough already, taking away the audience puts the performers in a tougher spot, and they respond by pushing in moments where the support of laughter or other audible reactions would otherwise buoy them. Trustus deserves applause for making theater - and polished theater at that - safely, but the interplay between actor and audience is what makes theater...well, theater. 

In its first attempt at producing a fully mounted show for home consumption, Trustus delivers a quality product and should be commended for adapting to these trying times. Watching the show feels as close to an evening on Lady Street as possible - you can almost smell the Cromer’s popcorn. Format-associated growing pains aside, The Thanksgiving Play is well worth your time and your donation and should inspire some spirited conversation at your virtual Turkey Day dinner table.

Patrick Michael Kelly is the theatre editor for Jasper Magazine.

REVIEW: Trustus's A Christmas Miracle at The Richland Fashion Mall by Frank Thompson

“ Why is this important? Well, the only way to create unique theatrical experiences here in Columbia is to create them ourselves. Otherwise, everything being produced in town would be a restaging of an already produced work.” - -Trustus Artistic Director, Chad Henderson

While I will admit to loving the classics, even I sometimes want something newer than A Charlie Brown Christmas or Miracle On 34th Street. Let’s face it, there hasn’t been a new addition to the Holiday canon since A Christmas Story got adapted for the stage, and even then, we could all recite along with Ralphie and The Old Man. Well, leave it to the good folks at Trustus to present a fresh, hilarious, and oft-heartwarming story with A Christmas Miracle at The Richland Fashion Mall. Along with the “God bless us ev’ry one” moments, A Christmas Miracle At The Richland Fashion Mall contains just enough salt and vinegar for those of us who have seen too many saccharine-laden Hallmark movies or grade-school Christmas concerts.

Much of this salt and vinegar comes in the form of Mandy (Clayton P. King) and his partner (both business and personal), Laurel, played by the venerable Gerald Floyd, who celebrates his 72nd role with …Richland Fashion Mall. They bicker, they snipe at each other, and only occasionally does the act give way to a legitimate moment of tenderness. Their banter is flawless, and their stage chemistry undeniable. I do hope to see King and Floyd opposite each other soon.

Another excellent pairing by director Abigail McNeeley is that of Krista Forster as cynical Noelle, and Alyssa Velasquez as the optimist who thinks the mall can remain open. As with King and Floyd, they often argue, but their sense of friendship is undeniable. (Okay, weird and undeniable.) As much as they all deny it, this group of employees in a dying mall (kept open only by a bookstore/monolith “Farnes And Floble”) share a connection through their shabby, much-maligned workplace.

Preach Jacobs shines as the mall custodian/narrator, who may just be the wisest man in the place. His character doesn’t interact very much with the others, providing a sort of detached, Everyman’s perspective. Jacob’s soothing baritone and gentle nature immediately establish him as a voice of calm and reason.

Jared Rogers-Martin (Darrell), Allison Allgood (Player 1), and Samuel Traquina (Player 2) , all turn in excellent performances, but to say too much about them would be to ruin the Deus ex Machina ending. Just please take my word for it. These three manage to keep up with the rest of the cast, in smaller roles. EVERY performer onstage in …Richland Fashion Mall is a consummate professional.

The set, costumes, and production values were certainly up to Trustus’ high standards. As always, the popcorn is on hand, good cheer fills the room before and after the show, and there’s a feeling of a family assembling as patrons take their seats.

And the script, itself? Written by local comedy troupe, The Mothers, A Miracle at Richland Fashion Mall is full of my type of humour (irreverent and a little inappropriate), and I found it delightful. It does, however, toward the end, feel a bit like an SNL skit that went on too long. All ends well, but if it had so done twenty minutes sooner, it would’ve been perfect. A bit of editing here and there, and this show would be the ideal antidote for those in sugar-shock over the last five Rankin-Bass Claymation Christmas tales broadcast every ten minutes.

A Christmas Miracle At The Richland Fashion Mall is a hilarious, well-crafted, and oftentimes touching holiday treat. Like salted caramel, there’s just enough spice to cut through the sugar. Make it a part of your Yuletide this year! You might even want to follow Gerald Floyd’s wise advice:

“Less talkin’, more drinkin’! I wanna get my nog on!”

See the show. I promise you’ll have fun.

Clayton King and Gerald Floyd - photo courtesy of Trustus Theatre