Dry Land

Reviewed by Terry Morgan
Echo Theater Company/Atwater Village Theatre
Extended through May 28

RECOMMENDED

Ruby Rae Spiegel’s Dry Land succeeds on multiple levels: first, as a dark comedy, second, as a graphic portrayal of the process of a self-administered abortion, and last and most particularly, as a sharp and illuminating character study. This West Coast premiere by the Echo Theatre Company is entertaining and assured and a lot funnier than the subject matter might suggest.

Amy (Teagan Rose) and Ester (Connor Kelly-Eiding) are members of a Florida high school swim team. When the play begins, Ester is trying to help the pregnant Amy induce a miscarriage by repeatedly punching her (at Amy’s request) in the abdomen. Amy doesn’t want a baby, but can’t go to a doctor without having her parents informed of the situation. Ester wants to help and gain Amy’s friendship; she’s also anxiously preoccupied with securing a college swimming scholarship. The two girls bond as they experiment with various abortion methods they’ve read about online. But they are not really prepared for the ordeal in store.

Kelly-Eiding does moving and terrific work as Ester; she’s utterly convincing as a well-meaning but socially awkward young woman doing her best under very trying circumstances. It’s a seamless performance in which the performer melds completely with her character.

Rose is quite good as Amy, who is the more popular and experienced of the two girls. But Spiegel’s writing is a bit less convincing here; she imbues the character with some improbable and conflicting traits: an odd and somehow artificial image of herself as a slut that clashes with her stated (but somehow dubious) desire to be a writer. Both character elements feel tacked on and unsupported by the rest of the script, and make Rose appear more unsympathetic than she otherwise might be.

Director Alana Dietze gets memorably fine work from her performers, staging the action with enough fluidity to keep things from becoming visually static. Spiegel’s writing is remarkably good in many ways, especially the dialogue, which is full of unexpected humor and teenage non-sequiturs. A few bits are less effective, such as an overly long cleaning sequence. But this is a quibble: overall, Dry Land is an impressive piece of work.

Although Planned Parenthood and the lack of an available clinic are never addressed in the play, their very absence underscores the suffering of these fictional characters, and reflects the dilemma of a myriad young women all over our country.

Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater; Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. & 7 p.m.; through May 28. www.EchoTheaterCompany.com. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.