Lying with Badgers
Reviewed by Terry Morgan
Native Voices at the Autry
Through March 15 [NOTE: Closed early due to COVID-19]
Los Angeles has many theatrical treasures, from big productions to intimate black box shows, from London and Broadway imports to works of homegrown genius. In the latter category, one of the city’s most unique blessings is Native Voices at the Autry. It’s the only Equity company devoted exclusively to developing and producing works by Native American, Alaska Native and First Nations playwrights — making it a truly original voice in American theater. I’m a fan of Native Voices and generally enjoy its work, but unfortunately this latest production, playwright Jason Grasl’s Lying with Badgers, is uneven in quality.
Asher (Enrico Nassi) is attempting to open a Blackfeet spirit lodge in the woods of Montana in an effort to garner eco-tourism dollars to try and keep corporate interests from developing the land. His romantic partner, Maggie (Rainbow Dickerson), is dubious about the project and even more so about one of their first guests, Crystal (Stephanie Childers), a businesswoman there to “mentor” the project and perhaps approve a loan. Another guest, movie star Tara (Dana Pacheco), is friendlier and more welcome, but the third and most unexpected guest is Asher’s long-absent older brother Russell (Glenn Stanton), whose return not only affects the family but also the spirits of the land itself.
Stanton brings an anguished intensity and casual charm to his role as Russell, blending the serious issues of the play with his own comedic chops, and delivering a performance that is a highlight of the production. Nassi is appealingly awkward as Asher, but he is somewhat challenged by the writing of his character, which flips between well-meaning ineptitude and moral certainty with little transition. Dickerson does solid work as the prickly Maggie, but she is similarly constrained by the writing; her character hits the same note of righteous anger repeatedly over two hours. Childers is effective as the formal and mysterious Crystal, and Pacheco is quite good as the open-hearted and open-minded Tara.
Director Randy Reinholz gets strong work from the ensemble and uses the theatrical space creatively. Faith James’s animal puppets are scruffily adorable, especially a large dog puppet, which Dickerson expertly maneuvers. As playwright, Grasl clearly has talent, but Badgers has problems both architecturally and tonally. Structurally, the play wants to be about modernity vs. tradition and capitalism vs. integrity, with lots of spirituality and a quick hint of tough love. But that tough love might possibly be child abuse; also, the various themes don’t mesh together very well.
Tonally, the inclusion of badger spirit puppets who speak in high-pitched, silly voices, or a fox puppet which is distractingly similar to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, doesn’t mix well with the serious drama of the story. Jokes such as “oh, the fox-manity!” or a plot point which asks us to accept an instance of auto-cannibalism with a straight face don’t help either.
One can detect a better play in this material given more focused treatment, but unfortunately Lying with Badgers, while enjoyable and well-acted, isn’t quite there yet.
Wells Fargo Theater, Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.; through Mar. 15 [NOTE: Closed early due to COVID-19]. www.TheAutry.org/NativeVoices. Running time: approximately two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.
