Death and Other Girly Things
Reviewed by Julia Stier
Loft Ensemble
Through April 12 [NOTE: Remaining performances suspended due to COVID-19]
Death. There’s no escaping it. It comes for us all. Some deal with this inevitability by hiding from it, others embrace it, and a few people even find comfort in it. When Pam (Katy Laughlin) “adopts” a fetal skeleton from the 1870s and decides to treat it like a real baby, she sparks some interesting debates about the end of life. Shortly after her story hits the headlines, Pam teams up with Paul (Sean James), a professor who studies death culture, and the two embark on a road trip to interview women and their connections with the topic.
Death and Other Girly Things by RJ Fontaine — and co-directed by Madylin Sweeten Durrie and Mitch Rossander — is brimming with colorful characters. Laughlin as Pam starts the show off strong by bringing the quirky “Mother of Death” to life in an opening monologue that is equal parts hilarious and haunting. She brings depth and humor to a woman whose emotional turmoil threatens to swallow her whole.
What stands out about this play are the people Pam and Paul meet on their journey. Through a series of monologues, women from all walks of life speak passionately about love, loss and femininity.
Dani Power as party girl Iris is especially engaging to watch. Her diatribe about the biology of the female body and the patriarchy is amusing and surprisingly profound. Bree Pavey’s Diamond, the beauty pageant coach, is clearly a force to be reckoned with. Her brash, bold personality is abrasive at first, but Pavey wins the audience over when the façade falls, revealing Diamond’s true fears and insecurities. Among a large cast of 17, with many actors playing multiple roles, Sarah Nilsen is notable for making each character she plays distinct and memorable, with accents and quirks tailored to each one.
Each monologue is wonderfully written, with a specific voice and a unique point of view. Every one of them is strong enough to stand on its own, making the narrative — of who Pam is and why she and Paul are going on this road trip — contextual but unnecessary. Trimming the play down to focus on the monologues would also cut right to the heart of the piece, which is the many ways people view and deal with death.
With its positive perspective on death, this play is sure to spark conversation. Exploring the very humanness of mortality, Fontaine has approached what is commonly regarded as a morbid topic in a surprising and innovative way.
Loft Ensemble, 11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Apr. 12 [NOTE: Remaining performances suspended due to COVID-19]. (818) 452-3153 or www.loftensemble.org. Running time: two hours with a 10-minute intermission.
