The New Theatre at Firehouse on the Carol Piersol Stage Presents
A WORLD PREMIERE by Chandler Hubbard
A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis
At: The Firehouse 1609 West Broad St., Richmond, RVA 23220
Performances: May 8-26, 2024
Ticket Prices: $0-$35
Info: (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org.
Chandler Hubbard, local actor (Corpus Christi, The Altruists, Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, and Stupid F!%king Bird) and playwright (Animal Control reviewed here in April and July 2019)and Molly House) has done it again! And by “done it again” I mean that he has taken as subject matter “real-life subjects and their accompanying emotions – anger, blame, justice, and ultimately compassion. Sometimes it’s difficult to decide whether to laugh or cry” https://wordpress.com/post/jdldancesrva.com/1249). By “done it again” I mean that Chandler’s work delivers a surprising play that “presents many sides of a story, demonstrating how difficult it is to judge others. It makes subtle parallels between the behavior of people…[and] mostly it reminds us that even the most unlikely person may be deserving of compassion” (https://wordpress.com/post/jdldancesrva.com/15140). I am not saying that Roman À Clef is anything like Animal Control, but that Chandler has a unique vision, a wonderful way with words, and – together with his production team – an insightful and humorous eye for presenting his words and vision to an audience.
Roman À Clef is a family play, but not a family-friendly play. First, in English, the title means “novel with a key,” a French phrase for a literary device in which real people, places, and things are given fictitious names, blurring the line between reality and non-reality, fact and fantasy, fiction and non-fiction. In Roman À Clef, a theater company rehearses a play that is about the fictitious playwright’s real family. But, one wonders, how much is based on reality?
Sharon Ott ably directed the three-acts of shenanigans, all of which were executed by a stellar cast. Andrew Bryce, in his Firehouse debut, leads the ensemble as Jack, the director of the fictional play, whose work blurs the line between fact and fiction and creates new perspectives and reveals new dimensions of family trauma. eventually – inevitably?—it is revealed that the reason Jack’s cast can never satisfy his unattainable demands is because he has not yet put to rest his own demons. Even the title of Jack’s play, Apple, Tree: Far From, Not is a pretentious portent of things to come.
Among the well-cast cast members of the play-within-a-play and Jack’s family are a mix of familiar and new faces: newcomer Reese Bucher, Lukas D’errico (Firehouse debut), Richmond newcomer Alex Harris, Tippi Hart (a VCU professor of theater movement in her first full Firehouse production), Keaton Hillman, Kelli Kennedy, Donna Marie Miller, Landon Nagel, and Tatjana Shields (Firehouse debut).
While this was a true ensemble, there were a few who stood out to me. Reese Bucher as Spawn, a newcomer in the character she played as well as on this stage, brought a genuine freshness and energy that that exploded off the stage and landed like glitter on her cast-mates. Likewise, Keaton Hillman in the role of McKnight, whom I’ve had the pleasure of watching develop as a theater artist on various Richmond stages over the years, gave a seamless performance in a role that seemed to have been written expressly with him in mind. Not to mention, seeing his lanky frame rocking bootie shorts and a propeller beanie was hilarious.
There were also some striking performances from the ranks of the more seasoned cast members. Kelly Kennedy strikes an interesting balance between frailty and perseverance, equal parts victim and victor as Jack’s mother Lois. Tippi Hart as the stage version of Jack’s mother, Queenie, is lovable but confused, looking kind of like a drag queen in the early stages of dementia. And Donna Marie Miller convincingly plays Jack’s sister Fiona as the family conciliator, the one who tries to smooth things over at all costs.
The problem is, there is no smoothing over the family trauma that fuels Jack’s family and bleeds into his present. The masks we wear are symbolically represented in Chris Raintree’s stunning set. It starts off as a cartoon caricature of a home, centered around the kitchen – the metaphorical heart of every home. In act two, the mask is removed to reveal the real kitchen of Jack’s childhood home, and begins to cover the source of his family’s dysfunction. Hubbard calls this act “A Family Home (without a family). For the third act, the mask is returned, but there are cracks in it, and bits of reality peak through. This is “A Performance, A Reckoning. All of it. All together. Now.”
And that title pretty much sums it up. There isn’t much more to say, other than: Hubbard has created a masterful piece of theater. His words tell hard stories with beauty, and humor, and truth. Roman À Clef is immersive; details matter, from the script to the costumes to the set to the character’s names (e.g., McKnight, Bishop, Queenie, Kingston, Spawn, Rookie). Sharon Ott’s direction tapped into the trauma and helped dissipate the energy in a way that made it palatable for an audience, the ensemble appeared to be committed to the work, and Chris Raintree’s set design captivated us in ways that words alone could not convey. Chandler Hubbard’s Roman À Clef manages to tap into areas many shy away from, and makes us glad he went there – and invited us to join him.
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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself, and occasionally performs.
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ROMAN À CLEF
A World Premiere by Chandler Hubbard
Directed by Sharon Ott
May 8-26, 2024
Time: Here and Now
Place: Firehouse Theatre
Act I – A Rehearsal.
Act II – A Family Home (without a family).
Act III – A Performance. A Reckoning. All of it. All together. Now.
Roman À Clef is a product of the TNT New Play Incubator.
CAST
Jack ……………………. Andrew Bryce
Mike ……………………. Alex Harris
Lois ……………………. Kelly Kennedy
Fiona ……………………. Donna Marie Miller
McKnight ……………………. Keaton Hillman
Bishop ……………………. Tatjana Shields
Queenie ……………………. Tippi Hart
Kingston ……………………. Landon Nagel
Spawn ……………………. Reese Bucher
Rookie ……………………. Lukas D/Errico
Mike/Kingston u/s ………….. Patrick Rooney
Lois u/s ……………………. Gina Marie McKenzie
Fiona/Queenie u/s ……………. Rachel Garmon
Bishop/Spawn u/s ……………. Kylee Marquez-Downie
Rookie u/s ……………………. Aidan Campbell
McKnight u/s ……………. Evan Kagarise
Jack u/s ……………………. Thomas Kaupish
PRODUCTION TEAM
Direction ………. Sharon Ott
Assistant Direction ………. Molly Marsh
Scenic Design ………. Chris Raintree
Assistant Scenic Design ………. Sarah Cook
Costume Design ………. Cora Delbridge
Lighting Design ………. BJ Wilkinson
Assistant Lighting Design ………. Reid Hardymon
Sound Design ………. Kyle Epps
Intimacy/Fight Direction ………. Stephanie Hart
Movement Direction ………. Nathaniel Shaw
Developmental Dramaturgy …. Naysan Mojgani
Stage Management ………. Emily Vial
Asst. State Management ………. Juliet Grace Grochowski
RUN TIME
90 minutes with two intermissions
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
- Previews Wednesday – Thursday, May 8-9 at 7:30pm
- Opening Night – Friday, May 10 at 7:30pm
- Running Thursday – Sunday through May 26, 2024
TICKETS
$35
$15 tickets available for college and high school students.
Pay-What-You-Will performances offered for both preview performances,
as well as all matinees (excluding closing, May 26th).
Photos by Bill Sigafoos
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