Andrés Garcia Arriola and Dani True (Photo courtesy of Loft Ensemble)
Reviewed by Odalys Nanin
Loft Ensemble
Through February 15
The lights come up on Madylin Sweeten and Natasha Renae Potts’s impressive and realistic rustic cabin set (with a living room, bar, kitchen and a visible bathroom behind a glass opaque door), as Dana (Jennifer De Rosa) enters with grocery bags. Behind her is Bex (Dani Ture), her teenage daughter who runs to the bathroom screaming at her mom to “fuck off!” The audience roars with laughter as she slams the bathroom door and throws up in the toilet.
Meet the Parkers, a dysfunctional family battling alcohol addiction, suppressed anger and secrets Natasha Renae Potts’s direction.
Enter Bex’s stepfather Rodney (Isaac Deakyne) carrying bottles of alcohol in a box. “This should be enough to hold us over for this weekend,” he announces, while Dana, his wife, smiles and replies, “Let’s have a good weekend, love.” (She repeats this phrase throughout out the play.) She then offers to make them some mimosas.
The parents are both alcoholics, Bex suffers from bulimia, and Sophie (Andrea Casamitjana) who just came out to her parents a month ago brings her lover Alex (Francesca Alejandra) to meet her family. Sarcastic remarks fly through the air like tiny knives.
In the midst of this chaos, there is a knock and in enters, ranger Callum Forrest (Andres Garcia Arriola) who alerts them of a controlled burn, 15 miles from the cabin, while assuring them they are safe. He explains it’s a necessary fire to help prevent forest fires. As the play unfolds, we see the connection between the controlled fire burning in the forest and the emotional fire burning in the Parker family.
As they drink more, their anger grows more intense towards each other. Jennifer DeRosa offers a persuasive performance as the matriarch/rock of the family who tries to ride every conflict with a smile. True’s Bex shines true by staying connected in each moment.
The play promises a powerful punch, as the nature the mysterious death of their Dana’s 13-year old son is revealed. Was pill-popping Dana complicit in the boy’s demise? Or perhaps he simply committed suicide, by drowning in their pool which now remains empty. Who knows? Ambiguity in a play such as this is not a virtue, nor are too many moments of screaming and yelling. There are, however, some standout performances that make this play worth watching.
Sawyer Playhouse, Loft Ensemble, 11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 7 pm; thru Feb. 15. www.loftensemble.org
