Playwright Aliza Goldstein’s “A Singular They” currently at The
Blank Theatre / Second Stage, bumps the discussion of gender issues to another
level. The play presents a growing
spectrum of people who simply don’t fit neatly into society’s simple constructs of
which bathroom to use, whom to love and be loved by and how to address and deal
with the changing climate of gender.
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| Lily Nicksay (L) and Hannah Prichard Photo Credit Anne E. McGrath |
The Second Stage sits on Theatre Row on Santa Monica
Boulevard at Wilcox in Hollywood. It’s
a funky little storefront with a cramped “lobby” and six or eight cardiac steps
up to the space itself. It’s seat
of the pants, jury rigged and charming.
Aaron Lyons’ multi purpose two level set works well as we meet Deidre
(Hannah Prichard) and Burbank aka Cristine (Lily Nicksay), two seventeen year
olds who are anything but typical teens.
“Deids” is knocked up and marveling at the whole business of growing a
whole person inside her body. She
grouses about the Yuppiesque Johnsons whom her mother has recruited to adopt
the child whom she will soon deliver.
Her pal, Burbank, shows up with a new Justin Bieber hairdo and presents
at once as an attractive teen girl as well as a cute and somewhat androgynous boy. They serve time in Mr. Mazar’s (Nick Ballard) detention hall
where they make up assignments missed in their regular classes. Mazar is 26 and handsome. It’s a situation that young teachers
may face often: dealing with a teen crush, especially when the teacher’s own
sexual identity may be ambiguous and in question. The moral issue of an ‘adult’ and a ‘child’ getting together
blossoms as Mazar attempts to counsel Burbank.
As Burbank attempts to puzzle out their personal identity (note
the gender neutral pronoun) and how to deal with a double or triple dose of
Teen Angst, we ride shotgun down their winding road to life. From time to time Burbank
addresses the audience to report on the issue that plagues them. One web search announces, “Between 0.1% and 0.2% of
live births are ambiguous enough to become the subject of specialist medical
attention, including surgery to assign them to a given sex category (i.e., male
or female).” At one
point Burbank compares it to winning a "pretty shitty lottery."
In a world where a person may be forced to choose to identify as one sex or another: male or female, Burbank just wants to be
their own person: someone who is accepted and loved for whom they are instead
of undergoing sex assignment surgery, not ‘’RE” assignment… for them to fit into the only option
that our narrow social construct may accept. A noble goal.
Director, Christopher J. Raymond, guides Deidre and Burbank well,
as Mazar is somewhat slow to catch up.
A subtly different acting style doesn’t spoil the story, but may call
attention to itself. It’s a gray
note. A nightmare
for Burbank is somewhat difficult to parse out, but over all the question of
how to deal with folks who may have won a very difficult lottery to help them
become happy and well-adjusted individuals who are successful in their own stories is a
topic worth exploring. A
thoughtful and well constructed piece.
Highly recommended.
A SINGULAR THEY
by Aliza Goldstein
The
Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre
6500
Santa Monica Boulevard
(on
Theatre Row at Wilcox)
Hollywood,
CA 90038
Friday
and Saturday at 8pm
Sunday
at 2pm
Through
May 1, 2016
Tickets
are $30
Tickets
and information:
(323)
661-9827
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