Samsara

Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
Coeurage Theatre Company
Through June 1

In 2008, The New York Times published an article about a burgeoning new enterprise in India: the establishment of surrogacy clinics catering to couples in need of a woman to bear their child. The article explained how the service was being utilized by people from a range of countries across the globe, and that its relative affordability — one third the price of a similar service in the U.S. — made it appealing to non-affluent middle-class Americans (teachers, nurses, secretaries) who might not be able to afford American prices.

Lauren Yee’s whimsy-laden Samsara, directed by Rebecca Wear for Coeurage Theatre Company at The MET Theatre in Hollywood, revolves around just such a couple, while revisiting and internationalizing the terrain of Jane Anderson’s 1989 play The Baby Dance. Yee’s pivotal pair are Craig (Joe Calarco) and Katie (Katie Pelensky), a musician/construction worker and grant writer respectively, who are unable, for medical reasons, to have a child the standard way and are opting for the Indian surrogate alternative.

As much as she wants a child, however, Katie is unwilling to travel to India. She insists that Craig go alone, while she stays home and gets updates long distance via phone and the internet. Under protest Craig accedes to her wishes. He goes to India where he meets and attempts to construct a friendly rapport with Suraiya (Pooja Shah), the woman carrying their child. But Suraiya has little interest in a relationship; her motive for doing this is money, specifically tuition for four years in medical school. She plans for this to be her last experience with maternity. The pregnancy has been a trying one — not so much for medical reasons but because her fetus (realized on stage by adult actor Nardeep Khurmi) is a rambunctious opinionated individual who asks questions like a 5-year-old yet is inexplicably knowledgeable about geography trivia and strategies for getting both of them to the United States.

While Suraiya is wrestling with the life-sized specter of her baby, Katie is having an imaginary affair with an apparitional Frenchmen (Aarón Alonzo), who resembles a character from a film she and her mom had once enjoyed together. Meanwhile Craig, (more rooted in our shared reality), is coping with his sojourn in an Indian metropolis, where the heat is oppressive and the traffic is so daunting, he won’t hazard crossing the street in front of his hotel. Also, not only is Suraiya unfriendly, but the doctor overseeing her pregnancy (Alonzo) is a weird, shady character who more resembles a comic strip villain than a doctor you’d trust with your newborn.

Capably executed by an on-point cast, Samsara works best as a contrast between the perspective of privileged Westerners, personified by the self-absorbed Katie, with that of Third World denizens like Suraiya, who must make harsh choices to get what they want and need. Otherwise, solid performances notwithstanding, it’s hard to care about the outcome of this story — that is, whether Katie and Craig will succeed in their adoption endeavor and whether or not it will make them happy. It’s possible to become interested in Craig’s adventures as a reluctant stranger in a strange land, but Katie’s fanciful romps on the sofa with her mustached monsieur and her surreal fantasies (she too has interactions with a fictional “Baby”) aren’t especially funny, nor do they deepen the story or move it forward.

My other caveat with the script has to do with the lack of clarity surrounding critical details in the plot — most prominently the revelation well into the story that the sperm for this baby comes from a donor and not from Craig. (We are told in the beginning that the problem is a tumor in Katie’s uterus, but no mention is made of Craig’s infertility. Also, the cancer issue is never followed up.) And near the end comes an unpleasant revelation about Craig that is at odds with everything we’ve seen in him before. It prompts a dramatic moment that thus seems artificially devised.

As mentioned, the performances are good, despite other limitations. Shah serves as the story’s emotional anchor with a cogent portrayal of a woman who harbors no illusions in pursuit of her goals. Khurmi and Alonso bring a sharply honed physicality to their roles to maximize their comic elements, and Pelensky’s similarly keen-edged delivery adds punch even when the narrative lags. Calarco is fine as mostly straight-man in this play that endeavors to be a satire.

Amanda Khehans’ sparse set and Matthew Johns’ limited lighting do too little to help us discriminate between the reality and fantasy aspects of the production. But Dean Harada’s sound design works well to reflects the characters’ inner turmoil.

Coeurage Theatre Company at The MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., East Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; Sun. 5/19, 7 p.m.; Tues. 5/28, 8:30 p.m.; special performance featuring the alternate cast, Tues. 5/21, 8:30 p.m.; through Jun. 1. All seats are available on a “Pay What You Want” basis.

www.coeurage.org/buytickets or (323) 944-2165. Running time: approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.