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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Fake It Until You Make It Also see Susan's review of Uncle Vanya
Arena Stage in Washington is presenting the world premiere production of this play in its Kreeger Theater, in partnership with Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group. FastHorse, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, is using this play to examine different forms of identity–personal, tribal and national–aided by the skilled performances of a six-member ensemble. The problem is its shallowness: farce can poke fun at serious issues but, in this case at least, it's primarily about easy laughs. On Sara Ryung Clement's elegant modular set, which incorporates elements of Native art, a non-Indigenous woman named River (Amy Brenneman) is struggling to maintain a Los Angeles-based nonprofit called Indigenous Nations Soaring. In the same building, River's Native counterpart, Wynona (Shyla Lefner), oversees a different organization devoted to planting native species instead of importing plants that don't fit into the local ecosystem. (This organization has a long and difficult to remember name, so people refer to it with its mildly vulgar acronym.) River has the certainty of someone who really doesn't know what she's talking about. When she first appears onstage, she's removing some of Wynona's plants from the lobby (without permission) to destroy them in a portable incinerator. Beyond that, for some reason River has brought her cat to work (a stuffed toy whose screeches are part of John Nobori's sound design), causing problems for Wynona and distraction for the audience. In the space of about 90 minutes without an intermission, the audience also meets Wynona's socially conscious non-Native boyfriend Theo (Noah Bean), who through a misunderstanding becomes River's assistant; Kris (Brandon Delsid), who oversees a program for "two-spirit" Natives (the term for people who don't fit the gender binary); and Grace (Burgandi Trejo Phoenix), a self-proclaimed "therapist" who supports people who "find truth in belonging to races other than the one of their birth." (As costumed by E.B. Brooks, she appears at one point in a headwrap and Howard University sweatshirt, later in a flowing Japanese dress.) Eric Stanton Betts also makes an appearance late in the play. Director Michael John Garcés has worked hard to shape this confusing mess; the production has a few sparkling moments, then it's back to the yowling cat and the last-minute revelation of secrets. Fake It Until You Make It continues through May 4, 2025, at Arena Stage, Mead Center for American Theater, Kreeger Theater, 1101 6th St. SW, Washington DC. For tickets and information, please call 202-488-3300 or visit www.arenastage.org. By Larissa FastHorse |
