Sarah Jones — Photo by Chris Whitaker
Reviewed by Katie Buenneke
Geffen Playhouse
Through April 15
RECOMMENDED
Describing Sell/Buy/Date as “a one-woman show about people affected by the sex industry” sounds like it could be a painful experience — but the simplicity of those eleven words belies the complexity of this piece and its masterful rendering by writer/performer Sarah Jones at the Geffen Playhouse.
The story is framed as a history lecture taught by Serene, a “survivor” of the sex industry. The time is the future, and Serene is teaching the class (we the audience serve as her students) about past attitudes towards sex, laying bare the archived memories of sex workers and people adjacent to the industry. Jones becomes each of these characters, from Lorraine, an elderly Jewish woman who contextualizes current attitudes towards workers; to Cookie Chris and Sergei Ledinov, reformed and unreformed pimps, respectively; to sex workers of all ages and nationalities. As she lectures, Serene also must address unresolved issues with her mother, which are threatening her academic career.
Jones’ well-structured writing seamlessly navigates through different eras and disparate characters. The pacing does lag a smidge in the second half, but as a whole the storytelling is remarkably effective and moving, its impact compounded by Jones’ phenomenal performance. What’s remarkable is the way she is able to portray so many different characters so believably, mastering their physicality down to a habitual blink or an age-induced hand tremor. Even more astounding is how swiftly and seamlessly she slips in and out of each one — not just within scenes (such as one in a brothel where she assumes three different roles), but also in her transitions from those characters back to Serene, the teacher and our narrator. Each character has a vivid inner life, and it’s a treat to be in Jones’ presence, especially in a space as intimate as the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, the smaller of the Geffen’s two theaters.
The technical aspects of the show, though subtle, are well done. Dane Laffrey’s designs for the set and wardrobe, while minimal, effectively evoke the futuristic era Serene is inhabiting. The set is hauntingly lit by Elizabeth Harper, alternating between ghostly blues and vivid primary and secondary colors. Jonathan A. Burke’s sound design creates distinct aural worlds for each character and tips us off to the distinction between Serene in private and Serene in public.
One of the best things about the theatrical form is its capacity to give the audience something to hold onto — words, performed by another human being in a shared space — and then letting the audience’s imaginations fill in the rest. In Sell/Buy/Date, Jones and director Carolyn Cantor bequeath us something incredible: They transport us from a small theater across the street from UCLA to various locations around the world, throughout time.
If that’s not magic, what is?
Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through April 15. GeffenPlayhouse.org. Running time: 90 minutes.
