SMOKE

A Comedy of Horrors

A Theater Reflection by Julinda D Lewis

Presented by: Cadence Theatre

At: Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W Broad St., RVA 23220

Performances: May 22 – June 7, 2025

Ticket Prices: $35-$40

Info: (804) 233-4894 or (804) 355-2001 or firehousetheatre.org

It isn’t often that the first thing I want to talk about when I see a new show is the set, but the set of Smoke, produced by Cadence Theatre at the Firehouse Theatre, is a whole vibe.

Joseph Levigne’s multi-level design reminded me of a beach house where I spent a recent retreat. The lower level had a patio table and chairs, a pile of luggage, and a firepit. Next was a living room and kitchen alcove, and above that a bedroom on the audience’s left. The detail and elegance set us up to make the subsequent actions all the more dissonant.

It is here, in this stylish and affluent setting, that a family gathers for a wedding. Young women who tote huge Stanley cups – and sometimes unexplained bruises – and young men who sip beers and hone their survivalist skills in preparation for the apocalypse exchange conspiracy theories with their parents who hover over the latest in-home barista machine. It all feels like a set-up, but for what? Director Anna Senechal Johnson cleverly sets the tone and guides both cast and audience along a dark path strewn with unseen dangers – not that we cannot see them, we just don’t want to see them.

The playwright writes, “I wrote SMOKE several years ago at a time when I was becoming more and more alarmed by the divisions in our country.” Concerned by the dichotomies of our nation – poverty, infectious disease, war, and climate change – she summed it up with a simple sentence: Someone is making money as the world burns. Most ignore the warning signs of the burning, but where there is smoke, the saying goes, there is fire; hence, the title of the play.

By Act 2, things have visibly deteriorated. Mindy, the bride’s mother (Debra Wagoner) gives a deranged toast fueled by a mash-up of conspiracy theories. Mark (Brian K. Landis), who is married to the bride’s aunt Alice (Laine Satterfield) expresses hopefulness, but Chase (Adam Turck), the survivalist groomsman counters with a hate-filled response that makes Mindy’s theories seem mild in comparison.  Mark quotes Woody Allen – “the heart wants what it wants,” – while Alice concludes that “instead of a wedding, we just had an Instagram post.”

What is the truth? “Beliefs we used to take for granted … are now shifting,” Graham said in a “Datebook” preview I wrote for Richmond Magazine. “Although we are looking at the same things, we don’t seem to see the same world in front of us.” (https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/richmond-events/smoke-cadence-firehouse-theatre/) What was true when the author wrote the first draft of Smoke in 2022 is even more true in 2025.

Described as a dark comedy, “a comedy of horrors,” Smoke tunes into the times with raw and uncanny accuracy. This is not a fee-good comedy, but a laugh so as not to cry – or scream – comedy. Laine Satterfield and Brian K. Landis play Alice and Mark, the New York couple who drive to a rented mansion for a family wedding. They get lost along the way and discover new things about themselves after they arrive. Debra Wagoner plays the bride’s mother, Mindy, and Alice’s estranged sister – a soft-spoken woman whose conspiracy-laden rants are all the more vicious given her otherwise gentle demeanor and status as family matriarch.

Kendall Walker and Maggie Horan play the young bride, Kelsey, and her friend Joleen who go through life sheltered behind a lens of oblivion and privilege – even as Joleen appears to accept her fate as a partner in an abusive relationship. Adam Turck plays the groomsman, Chase – the very definition of a troll, the kind of person many of us find it hard to take at all, much less take seriously, but for his ability, his right, his eagerness to (a) always be right while (b) owning a gun.

Chase and Joleen are a couple, but even as supporting characters, they outside the bride and groom. John Mincks as Rick and Maggie Horan as Kelsey are almost superfluous characters in this story. Alice and Mark are the protagonists, but the surprise is held until the very end. Gordon Bass plays the groom’s father, Dave, a seemingly innocuous character who, in the end, holds all the cards…This is a stellar cast for a uniquely disturbing play. Writing about it just doesn’t do it justice.

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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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SMOKE

Written by Enid Graham

Directed by Anna Senechal Johnson

CAST

Alice                                 …..        Laine Satterfield

Mark                                 …..        Brian K. Landis

Mindy                               …..        Debra Wagoner

Dave                                 …..        Gordon Bass

Joleen                              …..        Kendall Walker

Kelsey                              …..        Maggie Horan

Rick                                  …..        John Mincks

Chase                              …..        Adam Turck

PRODUCTION TEAM & CREW

Director                          …..        Anna Senechal Johnson

Production Stage Manager   Isabel Stone

Assistant Stage Manager       Elise Bailey

Scenic Designer          …..        Joseph Lavigne

Scenic Painter             …..        Emily Hake Massie

Costume Designer     …..        Sarah Grady

Lighting Designer       …..        Jake Mitchell

Sound Designer          …..        Justice Craig

Sound Associate        …..        Julie Vo

Intimacy Coordinator              Stephanie Tippi Hart

Fight Choreographer …..        Aaron Orensky

Properties Designer  …..        Anna Senechal Johnson

Set Decorator               …..        Michael Maddix

Production Manager …..        Todd LaBelle

Technical Directors   …..        Todd LaBelle, Emily Vial

Assistant Directors    …..        Terra Comer, Adam Valentine, Alana Wiljanen

Running Crew              …..        Terra Comer, Elise Bailey

Board Operator           …..        Isabel Stone, Justice Craig

Photography                 …..        Jason Collins Photography

Performance Schedule:

12 performances, May 22 – June 7, 7:30PM

Run Time: about 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission