Denim Doves 

Reviewed by Julio Martinez 
Sacred Fools Theatre 
Extended through February 23 

This futuristic, post-apocalyptic sojourn into a sequestered community dominated by females seems inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale. However, it possesses no clearly defined dramatic through line. Five denim-clad wives of a painfully clueless husband named Penis (Corey Walter Johnson) toil through rituals, chants, songs, and duties that are supposed to identify their status as procreation slaves within a totalitarian, sectored society that puts a death penalty on those who cannot conceive. Yet, there is nothing in playwright Adrienne Dawes’ play that allows us to follow their journey.

It seems that First Wife (Janellen Steininger) has rigged the mating calls so that all the wives remain fertile but un-penetrated. The women meander through bits of female-speak, a series of maudlin compound-living rituals, and a few painfully simplistic songs. Eventually, they rise up in defiance against their totalitarian oppressors. It is the introduction of worldly Wife Six (Evangeline Crittendan) that shatters First Wife’s mating machinations, revealing that Penis is completely inadequate to the task implied by his name.

Rosie Glen-Lambert directs this farce as if she is trying to throw in bits of nonsense to distract the audience from the fact the play has nowhere go. Each of the wives (Meg Cashel, Jennie Ken, Lana Rae Jarvis, Teri Gamble) display uniquely individual characteristics that, while attention-getting, result in no pay off. 

Staged by Music Director Ellen Workendine and Choreographer Darla MacDonald, the play includes unfortunately rudimentary musical numbers that praise the compound’s ritualistic lifestyle. There is also an unexplained reverence for the onstage guitars that are fondled but not played with any proficiency by anyone onstage. Wife Four (Jarvis) has a pointed confrontation with First Son (Tyler Bremer) when he noodles aimlessly on her guitar. She alludes to some future communication between the two, but that never happens. 

This is one of many flaws in this work. There is a constant infusion of theatrical bits with no carry through. What does work are the intermittent projections of designer David M. Unfortunately, the playwright exudes a heart-felt agenda with no platform to support it. 

The Broadwater Main Stage, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood; Fri. & Sat, 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; Extended through February 23. sfreservations@sacredfools.com. Running time: one hour and 45 minutes, no intermission.