Phineas Clark and Ibimina Dominique Thompson Photo by Bruce Silcox

Close to Home takes place somewhere in the American South, in what feels like the recent past. Its three characters are fully formed individuals with forceful personalities and unique, though convergent, backstories. The play takes place in and outside of the house being hand-built by self-reliant Colt (Phineas Clark) on a woodsy lot, but close to a town, most likely a medium-sized city.

Colt's solitary life is disrupted in the middle of the night by Zara (Ibimina Dominique Thompson), a 17-year-old Black, Muslim trans girl who was beaten and kicked out of her home by her father when he discovered his "son" in a pink party dress. The next day, Zara's nurturing older friend, Kaysar (Noor Hamdi), shows up at Colt's place, having tracked her down. Kaysar is an Egyptian immigrant who works in his cousin's Lebanese restaurant. Kayser and Zara apparently met at their mosque, and he has assumed the role of her hyper-protective big brother. We are given the sense, early on, that Kaysar's empathy for Zara comes from both being Muslim, and even more so, both being queer.

Colt seems at first to be a rough-hewn survivalist, seeking refuge in the elements of nature, but we come to learn, with reveals that are nicely paced by the playwright, that there is more to him than first meets the eye. He is anything but pleased to have Zara on his hands. On first impulse he pegs her as a runaway and calls the police. Zara, though, is smart, confident, quick-witted, and highly persuasive. He agrees to let her stay, just for the night, then for a few more days after Kaysar steps up to say he will work things out with Zara's family so they will take her back. To Kaysar, a traditionalist in spite of himself, any family, even Zara's, is better for her than being out on the street.

In return for allowing Zara to stay, Kaysar tells Colt he will do work for him. Colt takes Kayser up on his offer and instructs Kayser on how to properly saw lumber for building the house. Kayser, it turns out, is not cut out for this work; however, Colt and Kayser do appear cut out for each other. There is an undeniable magnetic pull between them. Recognizing it, they quickly pull away.

Meanwhile, Zara goes to the private school for smart kids that she attends (she states she is there on a "minority scholarship, though they don't call it that") dressed as a boy. She has a friend, and maybe boyfriend, at school named Tyler, who knows what she is beneath the charade she plays at school–at least she thinks he knows. Her uncertainty, and his overall protectiveness prompt Kayser to discourage Zara's relationship with Tyler, while Colt, the rugged individualist, says she needs to live her own life.

Thus, things circle around and back as the relationships between Zara and Kayser, Zara and Colt, and Kayser and Kolt each advance and retreat toward understanding, accommodation and acceptance. Each of these three characters is lost, having lost the safe harbor of a home where they are loved as themselves. They seek this in one another, but their different natures and different origin stories make it heavy lifting. One unifying experience is looking up at the moon while sitting on a tree branch that bows down to the ground–a big, beautiful tree that drew Colt to choose this site for his homestead.

All three are drawn by Yazmeen as positive, immensely likeable characters, each with their own recognizable flaws and hang ups. Her dialogue is unerringly authentic, and though the basic setup of the plot is unlikely, she unspools it in a way that feels believable, gaining in credibility the more we watch her characters contend with their circumstances. Her staging is unrushed, though never plodding, giving the interactions time to forge genuine connections.

Thompson is sensational as Zara. They totally own their character, infusing her with brilliant wit, a survivor's instinct, sass, and a heart aching to be loved. Their way with a comeback line is hilarious, such as when Zara concedes that most high school boys "have the maturity level of a fart joke." Clark etches a rich portrait of Colt's varied facets, from crude habits, like pissing on his beloved tree in muscle shirt and torn jeans, to showing up in a tailored evening jacket complete with silk pocket square (among the smart costumes design choices by Amber Brown). He shows Colt's unchecked anger, his guarded ability to express affection, and his fear of confronting the worst of his demons. Hamdi matches his castmates in authenticity, compelling in expressing Kaysar's tender and protective sides while expressing fury when his stance is challenged. The three actors share a comfort with one another that puts the audience at ease with the shifting tones of their characters' relationships.

Scenic designer Afsaneh Aayani gives Close to Home a lovely and functional setting that lays out the bare-framed interior of Colt's cabin, using a clever device to let us see the work in progress toward its completion, his cluttered outdoor workspace with sawhorses and workbench, and the tree, Colt's space for repose. I recognized the tree upon entering the theater. It is borrowed from Penumbra Theatre Company, designed by Mina Kinukawa for Penumbra's 2022 production of Sugar in Our Wounds. It worked magnificently then and does so again now. Lighting designer Kai "KD" Deutsch Frost beautifully modulates the lights to show the progress of the sun through the day, and the illumination of moonlight. C. Andrew Mayer provides a lush soundscape that includes patches of music, bird songs, and the lapping of water in the river.

Where could Close to Home use some polishing? It withholds some of the characters' background that keeps us from more fully understanding how they came to their present conditions. Zara is fully Americanized in speech and affect, but are her parents native born African American Muslims, or are her parents immigrants who arrived when Zara was very young, so that she grew up without the accent of their homeland? How is Colt supporting himself while building his paradise? Did he have a past career that allowed him to save up? What would knowing this tell us about him?

Also, the frequent ringing of Colt's cell phone, followed by an angry outburst as he refuses to take the calls, becomes a tiresome device. When the big reveal about the phone calls finally comes it feels empty, as we have already guessed their nature. Wouldn't someone in his place put his phone on silent mode and let calls go straight to voicemail? No doubt his response to those recurring calls is meant to show us the depth of his anger, but some other way of depicting those feelings would be preferable.

Lastly, I admit to not being sure what the title Close to Home is meant to convey. Is it that the small community forged by Zara, Colt and Kayser is something close to a true home for them, but not the real thing? The play's resolution actually runs counter to that, but in my head-scratching on the matter, that's the best I could come up with. It is not my place, certainly, to give names to artists' work, especially work as excellent as Yazmeen has cast here, but I do wish the title sounded less generic and more evocative of the compelling narrative that follows it.

So those are my quibbles if you will. I bring them up as I assert my belief that what is already an excellent play might be made even stronger as it journeys on to the future productions it certainly merits. Close to Home is a lustrous play, so why not make it truly sparkle? In the meantime, I highly recommend you see it in its present form, illuminated by Pillsbury House + Theatre's beautifully mounted, powerfully acted production.

Close to Home runs through April 27, 2025, at Pillsbury House + Theatre, 3501 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please call 612-825-0459 or visit pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org/. Facial masks are required at Pillsbury House + Theatre.

Playwright and Director: Sharifa Yazmeen; Set Design: Afsaneh Aayani; Costume Design: Amber Brown; Sound Design: C. Andrew Mayer Lighting Design: Kai "KD" Deutsch Frost; Prop Design: Jenny Moeller; Intimacy Director: Suzy Messerole; Dramaturgy: Adam Elsayigh; Scenic Artist: Sammy Meverden; Assistant Director: Simone Bernadette; Technical Director: Claudia Errickson; Stage Manager: Rachael C. Rhoades.

Cast: Phineas Clark (Colt), Ibimina Dominique Thompson (Zara), Noor Hamdi (Kaysar).