Preview Thoughts on Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties

I don't know why, but Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties wasn't on my radar.  Not even a little bit.  It's weird - I'm trying to be very conscious of supporting new plays by women and I do enjoy (for the most part) the work of the producing company, MCC, and can't wait to catch their School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play later this year.  But I really had no awareness of this piece until a friend invited me to join her last night.  So off I went to a preview performance - the play doesn't open until next week, and I think they're still working (if online reports are to be believed), so I'll only offer a few thoughts.

When you walk into the Lucille Lortel Theatre, you can see a very large screen that displays the words (in all caps) "In essence, a queer and occasionally hazardous exploration; do you remember when you were in middle school and you read about Shackleton and how he explored the Antarctic?; imagine the Antarctic as a pussy and it's sort of like that."  Hm.  Ok.  Certainly sets a scene.  Though from our seats in the back row, it wasn't easy to read all of that; good thing it was also printed in our playbills.  The very large screen was utilized throughout the production, giving us headings before each scene, setting up what we were about to see.  Often, the headings were quite funny and eased us into funny/not funny scenes, which was effective.  On a side note, I wonder about the fad of headings (I mean, it just seems to be all the rage now, but maybe I just didn't notice it before?).  I'm on a few new play reading committees, and I find the use of headings and subtitles for each scene to be interesting.  I wonder what dramaturgical point a writer is trying to make, though, and could it eventually become a crutch?  I don't know.  But I guess I do find it intriguing...

Anyway, back to the play.  According to press notes, Collective Rage is "...Silverman's new comedy, where five women—all named Betty—collide at the intersection of rage, love, and the theatre, provoking each other to take a look in the mirror and be brave enough to face the person they didn’t know they could be."  This is a terrific summation of the play, in my opinion.  Each of the women have different problems and different needs, yet they're all reaching out for the same kind of recognition - of themselves and from other people.  There are beautiful metaphors about what it means to be a woman in this world, how we box ourselves into a corner, and the cleansing power of rage.  The writing really is very clever.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The scenes begin as sort of vignettes, as we start to get to know each of the Betties.  Then, as the play continues, the scenes get longer and more and more happens inside each scene.  The situations are so clever and funny, yet poignant and recognizable.  And 
the cast is INCREDIBLE.  Dana Delany, Adina Verson, Ana Villafane, Lea Delaria, and Chaunte Wayans are all simply fantastic.  It was great to see a play featuring all kinds of women - truly colorblind and genderblind.  I loved them all.

I got such a kick out of the newfound enthusiasm for 'devised theaTUH' that Betty 3 (Ana Villafane) found, and hearing her talk about 'inventing plays' and how she mixed up the names of Pyramus and Thisbe throughout just cracked me up.  And Adina Verson's (Betty 2) puppet pal was hysterical.  But sad, too.  I just found Collective Rage to be so unexpected and quirky and original, I thought it was terrific.  It also said so much about the times we live in.  I've been doing a little internet research today and I saw that the show has been done a couple of times before, though this version seems to have gone through some rewrites.  It was interesting to read a scathing review of one of the productions from a white dude (because, hello, how could he be expected to understand a play by a woman about women?!  [that was sarcasm.]), the counter comments by some cast members, and a terrific essay by the playwright (you should definitely read it HERE).  I was particularly struck by her statement, "This play is for you, because if you are human, then you know what it's like to have someone see you in a way that limits you."  That sentiment really spoke to me, as did her play.  You should go.