Review - To The Bone. And a dilemma.

Last night, I saw another play about a story I've never seen before.  I know I harp on that in reviews, but when you see a lot of theater, sometimes it feels as if you see the same story, and the same people, depicted over and over again.  So I'm always excited to meet people and hear stories that are completely new to me.  After reading about Lisa Ramirez's new play To the Bone on another theater blog I enjoy, I picked up a ticket, thereby continuing the unintentional run of new plays by women playwrights that I'm currently on (that run will end tonight but will pick up again Sunday, just so you know).

To the Bone is being presented at the Cherry Lane Theatre, one of my favorite spots downtown.  The space is on an idyllic West Village street and it's near Milk & Cookies, where I generally stop pre-show for a little snackie.  Last night, it was a sugar cookie and a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.  I just had a taste of both pre-show.  Good thing, since I also went in for a snack AFTER the performance, which I'll talk about later.  The house didn't open until very close to showtime - I was starting to get worried when I was the only person in the lobby.  At about 6:50, the hordes of people all came in at once.  I didn't realize at the time that most of the house was essentially one group.

The seating is around three sides of the square playing space.  By the time I went in, the 'center' section was already full, so I picked an aisle seat, on the side, in the back row.  I noticed that someone had put various things on most of the seats in the rest of the row to reserve the seats.  After a few minutes, the house manager asked me if I would please move because the aisle seat should've been reserved for 'technical' reasons.  OK, I moved over into the seat next to it.  There was a woman in the front row keeping an eye on all the seats in my row; apparently, she was the one reserving them.  In a house of about 50 seats, she was trying to save maybe fifteen seats.  That's a lot to try to save.  There were several couples who were angry and tried to sit in those seats - one couple had to sit separately.  It was weird.  I think the group knew someone in the show or something, but still, in such a small house, if your whole group doesn't come at once, that should be their problem.  Oh, and the aisle seat next to me?  Went to a latecomer, nothing to do with 'technical' at all.  She sat with her feet in the aisle, her bag practically on my lap and she refused to move if anyone wanted to pass by.  At the end of the first act, she turned to me and asked "Is it over?"  I said no, it's intermission.  She nodded and still wouldn't move to let anyone through.  Adding to the seat neighborness:  the women in front of me debating director's copyright (WHAT?!?!?!?!?!) and the couple across the stage from me who were making out through the entire play.  I don't know if poultry factories or undocumented immigrants turned them on or what, but it was ridiculous.  If I had been in the cast, I might've accidentally slapped them upside the head at some point to get them to stop.

photo credit: Monique Carboni

Whew.  Enough about seat neighbors.  Anyway.  The play.  I really enjoyed myself at To the Bone.  Taking place in upstate New York, the play centers around women who live together and work together at the local poultry plant.  Olga is the dominant force of the group, with strong opinions and even stronger language.  Her rage at the system both helps and hurts her throughout the play; her daughter, Lupe, is the only one of the characters who does not work at the plant.  She works at a clinic but dreams of going to law school in Manhattan.  One gal in the house is expecting her niece to come visit, another gal sleepwalks because she's racked with guilt about her daughter (the monologue about the mystery surrounding the daughter is haunting).  The visiting niece comes to America to help raise money for her mother's upcoming surgery; other characters include the two men who work at the plant as management, and another immigrant who drives the ladies everywhere, for a small fee. 

A lot happens to these characters throughout the play - some of the plot points may veer into melodrama, but I didn't care, because I was so caught up in their stories.  Each character is so specifically drawn and acted meticulously, so I thought I knew each and every one of them.  It was interesting to start to imagine how they would behave and see if that's what happened.  The men were all terrific, but the women, especially, were just fantastic, both as characters and as actresses.  I felt their bond, I felt their hopelessness and their despair.  I was on the verge of tears for much of the show, especially in the scenes in the poultry factory, because I so empathized with the futility of their predicaments - they couldn't argue or talk back to management because they were all undocumented immigrants, which was just another layer of their lack of power by virtue of their being women.  The one character, Olga, who had a green card, didn't really fare any better, even with her supposed advantage.

I was caught up and mesmerized throughout On the Bone - the script was smart, touching, funny and very real.  I also thought the direction was fantastic and the set was one of the best I've ever seen.  The way that tiny space was utilized was miraculous.  Everything - the sound, the lights, the costumes were so on point.  This was a terrific collaboration from start to finish.  I will be so intrigued to see what Lisa Ramirez comes up with next.  Oh, and I forgot to mention - she also played Olga.  Her acting was just as formidable as her writing.  Well done.

After the show, after all that sadness, I decided to make a pit stop for ice cream.  It was my first visit to the Big Gay Ice Cream shop.  It will not be my last... :)

And now my dilemma:  Monday night, I went out with some friends to see a show that I didn't like in the extreme.  I had a good time with my friends, both before and after the theater (especially after, where we rewrote the play to maybe help it at least make some sense, and also in the delicious snack and cocktail I consumed).  I've been torn about reviewing it.  I mean, my reviews don't really matter, in the large scheme of things, and isn't there enough negativity in the world already?  Do I really need to snark on someone's hard work?  But, on the other hand, maybe someone would either decide to go or not to go, based on how I described the play.  I don't know.  I'm really undecided.  I guess I'm leaning towards not talking about it.  I may change my mind at another time, or with another show I dislike, but for now - happy thoughts.  After seeing the women last night deal with the hardships of their lives, I seriously have no room to complain.  We'll see if the happy thoughts last.