Marlynne Frierson-Cooley and Alretha Thomas (Photo by Leonard Conner)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Hudson Backstage Theatre
Thru Oct. 26
Alretha Thomas — perhaps best known for her series regular role on the BET sitcom, Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living — was inspired to write a female “buddy” comedy-drama while putting on a play at Cal State Dominguez Hills. It was there that she reconnected with her old friend, Marlynne Frierson-Cooley, who came onboard to co-star in A Girl’s Guilt Trip, now at the Hudson Backstage. The play is co-produced and co-directed by Thomas and her husband, Roy Thomas.
Thomas plays Yoyo Banks while Frierson-Cooley portrays Robbie, Yoyo’s best friend since second grade. The pair are hellbent on traveling to Egypt and seeing the pyramids (although why they are so fixated on that particular location remains unclear). To that end, Yoyo has been begging on the street for their travel money. Robbie urges Yoyo to get the cash from her successful lawyer daughter, Amy (Heather Daughtry), but Yoyo, who hasn’t seen Amy for months, is oddly reluctant. Meanwhile, the two are living in a state of near destitution, sleeping on pallets on the floor in cluttered and dilapidated circumstances.
Closer than sisters, Yoyo and Robbie consider themselves “twins,” as evidenced by the constantly rotating “twins” t-shirts they sport. Emotionally enmeshed, they have relied on one another since Robbie stepped in to protect Yoyo from bullies at school. And, like sisters, they bicker constantly — with a specific quarrel that remains bitter and unresolved. While Robbie was still mourning the sudden death of her husband, Yoyo fixed her up with her co-worker, a man who became viciously abusive in short order. Now, Yoyo craves Robbie’s forgiveness for the disastrous pairing, but it’s not so easily come by.
While the play’s warm “girly” chatter between Yoyo and Robbie is truthful — alternately funny and fraught — disorienting plot points leave us off balance for much of the evening.
It’s true that, later on, several of these inconsistencies are explained in an unexpected “twist” (to say anything more would be a spoiler But their resolution in our minds comes a little too late.
The play’s central themes — forgiveness and the ability to move beyond trauma — carry emotional weight. Yet certain story choices offset their impact, particularly the puzzling emphasis on forgiving Robbie’s monstrously abusive ex.
Missteps include the early, tearful revelation of Robbie’s abuse, which leaves little room for the actors to build to the emotional catharsis later on. The belated introduction of a demolition crew worker (Al LaFleur.) is yet another blunder. This character is meant to be sympathetic; the problem is that he steals focus from the actual crisis that is unfolding by oversharing his own family traumas.
Despite these shortcomings, there’s still much to like. According to the press materials, it has been 32 years since Thomas was last on stage. You’d hardly know it from her thoughtful performance, which is well-paired with Frierson-Cooley’s poignant turn. Together, they give Girl’s Trip a heartfelt warmth that transcends its flaws.
The Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. thru Oct. 26. https://www.onstage411.com/girlguilt https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-girls-guilt-trip- Runtime: two hours with an intermission.
