[NEohioPAL] Review of "Amcestra" at Cleveland Public Theatre

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

CPT's 'Ancestra' is like pulling teeth, but in a good way

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the Cleveland Jewish News on 5/30/14

 

 

"The nation's morals are like teeth," playwright George Bernard Shaw once opined. "The more decayed they are, the more it hurts to touch them." 

 

As this country's principles and politics grow increasingly divided, the more Shaw's words ring true.  So it is with alacrity and no shortage of audacity that many of today's playwrights are chiming in on important issues, taking sides, and poking at the sensitive spots.

 

Unfortunately, the intersection of art and politics is often ungainly and unattractive.  Some playwrights merely teeter on the periphery of hot and hard topics, thoughtfully contemplating issues but never getting close to the root of the problem.  Others' efforts to inspire self-reflection, generate public awareness, or instigate social change through storytelling turn preachy, pedantic and off-putting. 

 

"Ancestra," a compelling new play written by local artists Holly Holsinger and Chris Seibert, directed by Holsinger, and enjoying its world premiere at Cleveland Public Theatre, actually entertains as it pointedly probes and boldly crusades.

 

The play unfolds through two stories taking place during two different times, the 1850s and today, which run parallel to one another before they eventually intersect and become interwoven.  

 

At the center of the contemporary story is Cora (Chris Seibert), a young, extremely intense journalist who writes on topics particularly relevant to women and who has set her focus on reproductive healthcare.  When Cora's undercover investigation turns personal and her reporting ruffles feathers, we are offered insight into how far society has come regarding woman's rights and just how far it has yet to go.

 

As Cora argues with her well-intended by hamstrung editor (Tanera Hutz) about journalistic integrity and the cost of taking a bold position on women's health care and reproductive rights, two 19th century students at Oberlin College (Lauren Joy Fraley and Katy Lynn Patterson) are fighting their own battle over gender equity.  

 

Their concerns about the College's restrictions on female education and self-expression are first brought to the attention of the school's administrators (Anne McEvoy and Sally Groth), where they are dismissed, and eventually to the sympathetic attendees at the 1853 National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland, Ohio (Tania Benites, Sarah Moore, Rhoda Rosen and others).  

 

The historical storyline of "Ancestra" is grounded in extensive dramaturgical research and draws much of its content from the letters, speeches and biographies of some of Ohio's most notable pioneers for women's rights.  The contemporary storyline is torn from today's headlines.  

 

When the play is overly dependent on these source materials it becomes a bit bombastic and heavy-handed, such as when pro-choice Cora and her pro-life sister (Faye Hargate) throw facts and figures at each other at the kitchen table.  Political talking points are occasionally talked to death as well.  But "Ancestra's" politics are largely relayed through well-honed and beautifully executed theatricality that softens the message without compromising its meaning.  

 

The playwrights' thoughtful prose is impeccably delivered by a highly skilled cast through beautifully drawn and very likable characters.  It is complemented by haunting singing that softly rises in the background as the scenes transition from past to present and, particularly, when the times and their parallel worlds intersect.

 

All this is showcased on Aaron Beson's modest but engaging set, which consists of two-tiered performance spaces under a proscenium arch constructed of sticks and earthen mortar.  Benjamin Gantose's dramatic lighting and Tesia Dugan Benson's flowing period costuming add to the ambiance.      

 

Comfortably ensconced in Cleveland Public Theatre's mission to raise consciousness and nurture compassion, "Ancestra" is most likely preaching to the choir where gender and reproductive rights are concerned.  The acid test for this play will be in subsequent stagings, to see if the anesthetizing effects of its presentation will take hold among less sympathetic audiences.   If it does, let the tooth pulling begin.

 

WHAT:            "Ancestra"

WHERE:        Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, Gordon Square 

WHEN:           Through June 7

TICKETS:       $12 - $28.  Call 216-631-2727 x501, or visit www.cptonline.org.  
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