ONE IN TWO

This is the play that has no end. . .

A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis

At: Richmond Triangle Players at the Robert B. Moss Theatre | Carpenter Foundation Stage, 1300 Altamont Ave, RVA 23230

Performances: September 20 – October 14, 2023

Ticket Prices: $10 – $40

Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org

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After seeing Donja R. Love’s phenomenal Sugar in Our Wounds, produced at Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) during April-May 2022, I was excited to see One in Two (2019) and I was not disappointed. One in Two is a three-person drama set in a waiting room, in the crossroads of “Now, until; Everywhere, nowhere.”

I was very intentional in my use of the word “crossroads.” While the literal meaning of a crossroads is an intersection, a place where two roads meet, it is commonly used figuratively and spiritually to refer to life-changing situations that require special attention, a decision, and are often marked by rituals of protection or transition.

One in Two is a masterful example of storytelling, but not the kind of story that is meant to entertain. This story is autobiographical – written by the playwright around the tenth anniversary of his own HIV positive diagnosis. It is not an entertainment, but rather a call to action, the urgency of which is suggested by the knowledge that Love began writing this play on the Notes app of his phone, from his bed. Presumably he, like the character Number One, was struggling with the need to define himself aside from a diagnosis that many considered a death sentence.

There is an experimental and inclusive nature to this work as well. Audience members are asked to take a number from a ticket machine as we enter. While the purpose is never explained, it eventually becomes clear that each ticket has been re-designated as either a “1,” a “2,” or a “3.” The three actors do not know, at the start of the show each night, which of them will be playing the role of “1,” “2,” or “3” until the audience chooses, by applause. [I applauded equally loudly for each because I know and admire Keaton Hillman and Tedarryl Perry as actors and was immediately drawn to Garrett D. Reese’s “extra-ness.”]

The actors begin to drift onto the stage one by one, about ten minutes before the show starts. They stand, stretch, linger. The action begins with a scream. On Friday, opening night, Perry was chosen to be Number One, and soon after a “safe word” was established. Overkill? No. It is, indeed, that intense.

One in Two is not lacking in humor. The three romp in a recreated memory of their youth. Perry progressed through the role of Dante from a carefree little boy to a young man exploring his sexuality until stumbling at the crossroads of an HIV positive diagnosis. Hillman played a number of roles, from bossy, king-of-the-hill kid to bartender to supportive [female] nurse, and even a member of an HIV support group – whose marriage was surrounded by secrecy and the unwillingness of his in-laws to accept their son’s marriage to another man. Reese also took on various roles, from the playground mediator to a streetwise booty call or, to put it more graphically,  trade, to Dante’s warm but worried mother.

Director Shanea N. Taylor pulls us into this world that unfolds in a non-linear, sometimes dream-like format that carries the audience from laughter to the point of tears in a matter of seconds. The stark white background, with a nurse’s station, a bathtub, and a bar hidden behind convenient cabinet doors, supports this fragile paradox – there’s nowhere to hide, while hidden in plain sight.

While it is impossible to know exactly how someone feels in this situation, One in Two takes us as close as humanly possible with a roller coaster of emotion including shock, shame, anger, depression and despair, compassion, fear, and more. The trauma is real. The acting, the play, is just an effective delivery vehicle.

Oh. That title? At the time this play was written, according to the CDC statistics: One in fourteen gay white men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. One I four gay Hispanic men will be diagnosed HIV positive. And one in two gay Black men will be diagnosed with HIV. That is why, at the end of this play, there is no bow. There is no applause. There is no end. Yet.

FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT: “There is still trauma that’s hard to write, there are still remnants of fear that tremble the voice found in my writing. I’ve gotten to a point where there are no words, characters, dialogue, or subtext to hide behind anymore. Fear can no longer overshadow truth.”

Bravo to this cast and creative team and to Richmond Triangle Players for moving past fear and presenting us with the cold, harsh truth.

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County.

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ONE IN TWO

Written by Donja R. Love

Directed by Shanea N. Taylor

CAST:

Keaton Hillman – Person on the Left

Tedarryl Perry – Person in the Middle

Garrett D. Reese – Perso on the Right

Understudies: Da’Rek Early Bennett and Larry Lewis, Jr.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Scenic Design – Dasia Gregg

Lighting Design – Michael Jarett

Sound Design – Nicholas Seaver

Projection Design – Lucian Restivo

Costume, Hair & Makeup Design – Margarette Joyner

Props Design – Tim Moehring

Production State Management – Lauren Langston

Assistant Direction – Dwight Merritt