Journey This 

Reviewed by Dana Martin 
Lounge Theatre 
Though November 11th 

RECOMMENDED

Cheray O’Neal is destroying the notion that stoic women rarely weep. In her one-person Journey This, O’Neal peels back years of destructive cycles and behavior by closely examining her own past to defy the belief that strong women are stoic. They press on when life is difficult and keep their pain to themselves. The play explores abandonment, molestation, abusive relationships, O’Neal’s fraught and complex relationship with her family and her struggle to find her own voice. 

Her story is told through a character named Journey, who drifts back and forth through time, channeling the voices of her ancestors. The play eventually narrows its focus on her fragile, perpetually disappointing relationship with her father. The narrative has a dreamlike quality, using poetry and music to explore her relationship to the abuse and abandonment that inevitably carve her future. While the story is ultimately redemptive, it’s a heavy 65 minutes. One scene is so shocking that it’s likely to trigger women in the audience who’ve endured similar sexual abuse.

O’Neal fluctuates between a formidable, not-to-be-fucked-with persona and childlike innocence. She’s crafted several distinct, authentic characters, leaving no stone unturned physically and emotionally. She finds strength in her own vulnerability and comfort through the expression of her pain, and sheds the stronghold of stoicism before our eyes. She weeps freely, feels deeply and expresses fully.

Director Marlene Forte proves a solid guide for O’Neal’s formidable talent. She creates several distinct playing spaces and keeps the play’s blocking simple and straightforward. She masterfully handles the play’s many crucial transitions. Lighting designer Brandon Baruch captures the play’s tone with a blend of sharp edges and a soft, dreamlike quality.

Journey This excavates O’Neal’s past in order to locate the source of her pain, a voyage she embarks upon fearlessly and compassionately. She uses her own story to destroy the notion that strong women don’t show weakness. She proves that one must confront the past in order to heal and grow, destroying cycles of dysfunction gifted from previous generations and releasing the ties that bind.

The Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.- Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through November 11th;  cherayoneal.com; Running time: 65 minutes with no intermission.