Dark Comedy – RVArt Review

OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD

*A Regional Premiere*

Growing Up is Messy…Especially When You’re Summoning the Dead

A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented by 5^th Wall Theatre

At: The Basement, 300 E. Broad St., RVA 23219

Performances: October 16 – November 9, 2025

Ticket Prices: $30/Adults, $15/Students

Tickets & Info: https://www.5thwalltheatre.org/ or email info@5thwalltheatre.org

5^th Wall Theatre opened its 2025/2026 season in its new, permanent home, the former Basement, now 5^th Wall at The Basement or 5^th Wall/Basement. In alignment with 5^th Wall Theatre’s mission “to provide insights into the human condition through theatrical expression,” the season opener provided new dimensions to the theatrical experience. Alexis Scheer’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord is a dark comedy about 4 Miami teenaged girls, members of the Dead Leaders Club, who meet in a tree house where they hope to summon the spirit of Pablo Escobar.

In case that name sounds familiar, yes, “that” Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug trafficker and leader of the infamous Medellín Cartel. In addition to being one of the world’s most notorious narco-terrorists, Escobar was also known as a philanthropist who built housing complexes, parks, football stadiums, hospitals, schools, and churches in some of Colombia’s poorest neighborhoods. So, what about Escobar appeals to a club (or gang?) of teen girls in Miami?

It could be the allure of the illicit, the Robin Hood element of Escobar’s philanthropy, the need to replace the powerlessness of being young and female with the trappings of power, or a misplaced coping mechanism to deal with their own personal traumas. More than likely, it is some combination of these things, along with the normal teenaged tendency to rebel.

In an interview for TheaterMania.com (September 22, 2019), the author explains that Our Dear Dead Drug Lord was created as a way for her to connect with her own roots. The Miami-born, Columbian and Jewish writer’s mother emigrated from Medellín in the 1970s. “The Colombian cartels and Pablo Escobar is a weird part of my family mythology that I don’t understand, because I feel so distant from it. So that’s where that came from. I think it’s a very American play, and part of my experience as an American is trying to touch upon the generation or two before me that was outside of this country and what they fled to get here.” (https://www.theatermania.com/news/alexis-scheer-gives-us-the-dope-on-her-play-our-dear-dead-drug-lord_89801/)

Okay. So, there’s that. But there’s also witchcraft, a Ouija board, a séance, and a special dance choreographed in honor of . There’s a diverse cast, each with a heavy burden of her own. Pipe, the club’s president, is an upper-class Cuban-American and carries the burden of grief from her younger sister’s death. Pipe’s bestie, Squeeze, is Puerto Rican-Haitian who is allergic to cats. Her father committed suicide. Zoom, Pipe’s Jewish-American neighbor, is the baby of the group, and always trying to keep up. Perhaps in an effort to over-compensate for her youth and lower status, she is also coping with the possibility of a teen pregnancy – which factors in the play’s climax. And then there’s Kit, a Columbian-American newcomer with a mysterious past that makes the other girls speculate that she may be the actual daughter of their hero, Pablo Escobar.

The intersection of this combined chaos is where these girls meet to create a sacred space, a sense of community – perhaps much like the community some young people find in gang life. Director Kaitlin Paige Longoria describes is as “an incantation, a call to the ancestors.” In her notes, Longoria writes, “It lives in that delicate space between grief and rebirth, between the ache of what’s been lost and the hope of what might still be found.”

It is in this spirit that these girls, four young women on the cusp of adulthood, seek freedom, power, and self-worth. It is in this spirit that they chant the mantra, “I will not be good. I will be loud, loud, loud. I will make the world in my image and take what I mine!”

Kylee Márquez-Downie (Pipe), Marya Brice (Squeeze), Eva Linder (Zoom), and Mary Kalinowski (Kit) form a solid ensemble, intense and darkly humorous. The séance is unsettling and the sacrifice is positively horrific and scary. It’s the kind of cast where each member has a distinct role, but it’s almost impossible to single out anyone because each plays an integral part in the whole.

Joey Luck composed an original score using the cast’s own voices and William Luther created a uniquely isolated and compact tree house environment where all the action takes place.

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord is anything but predictable. It is weird, dark, disturbing, and it resonates with the truth that society is failing our young women and if we don’t do something to shape and direct them, they will find someone – or something – to fill that void.

———-

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. Julinda was recently awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award 2023-24 Academic Year by VCU School of the Arts and the 2025 Pioneer Award in Dance Ministry by Transformation International Worship Ministries, Newport News, VA.

———-

OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD

A Play by Alexis Scheer

Directed by Kaitlin Paige Longoria

CAST

Kylee Márquez-Downie ………. Pipe

Eva Linder ………. Zoom

Marya Brice ………. Squeeze

Mary Kalinowski ………. Kit

UNDERSTUDIES

Natalie Tubia ………. u/s for Pipe & Kit

Kylie Metheny ………. u/s for Zoom

Jada Paul ………. u/s for Squeeze

FEATURING

DJ Cummings Herdoiza ………. Pablo

Fio Lo Presti ………. Pipe’s Little Sister

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed ………. Kaitlin Paige Longoria

Scenic Design ………. William Luther

Lighting Design ………. Corrine Manderino

Sound Design ………. Joey Luck

Costume Design ………. Emily Andrew Mateos

Choreography ………. Kayce Sullivan & Jamie Hollman

Intimacy Choreography ….. Kerrigan Sullivan

Stage Management ……… Megan Wave

Technical Direction ………. Chris Foote

Photography ………. @ivyandlacephoto

Performance Schedule:

Thursday, Friday, Saturday 7:30PM

Saturday, Sunday 2:30PM

Tickets: $30/Adult; $15/Student

Run Time: 95 minutes, no intermission

The World Premiere of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord was presented in September 2019 by WP Theater and Second Stage Theater, NYC, NY.

CONTENT WARNING: This play contains strong language, sexual content, depictions of drug use, and scenes of violence. The play also includes references to suicide, sexual assault, and other sensitive subject matter.

Marya Brice, Mary Kalinowski, Kylee Marquez-Downie, Eva Linder

PLEASE Make a one-time, MONTHLY, OR ANNUAL donation TO SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR RVART REVIEW!

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

Or enter a custom amount

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate Donate monthly Donate yearly

BURIAL TAX

A World Premiere

A Theater Review by Julinda D Lewis

Presented by: Firehouse Theatre | A Firehouse Mainstage Production

At: Firehouse Theatre on the Carol Piersol Stage, 1609 W Broad St., RVA 23220

Performances: July 9 – 27, 2025

Ticket Prices: $5-$35

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

If there is any chance that you think your family might be dysfunctional, you might feel better about your own situation after seeing Andrew Gall’s new play, a dark comedy called Burial Tax.

When two estranged siblings bring their respective partners to their family’s lake house to scatter the askes of their recently deceased father, things quickly get out of hand. Sparks fly – and so does scattered debris, a metal trash can, cold pizza, and even their father’s remains.

Most of us have probably experienced many of these family dynamics in our own lives: sibling rivalry, parental favoritism, failed educational goals, stagnant marriages. It’s the accumulation of all of these things in one place at the same time that makes this family’s drama exceptional. The shouting, the language, the twisted faces, the presence of alcohol, drugs, a weapon all elevate the tension to an unprecedented level of violence. (Sitting in the front row, we narrowly escaped the carnage when red plastic cups began flying across the stage and through the fourth wall.)

At the center of the controversy we find Steve (Matt Meixler) who once wanted to become a doctor and his younger sister Samantha (Nicole Morris-Anastasi) who is a doctor. The tables have turned since childhood when Steve was the favored child and Sam struggled to be seen. Childhood trauma runs deep, and Sam, despite her accomplishments, still seeks affirmation and appears to suffer from anxiety. Steve, on the other hand, has fallen from grace into an abyss he doesn’t know how to climb out of.

It is here that Steve’s wife Cora (Laine Satterfield) issues an ultimatum while Sam’s partner Dar (short for Darwin) approaches the whole family drama from a more philosophical point of view – fueled by alcohol in tiny airline-sized bottles and week that he somehow managed to sneak through airport security. Sam and Dar are not at each other’s throats like Steve and Cora, but their relationship is no less toxic.

It’s interesting that while Sam and Steve are the main characters, their partners Dar and Cora often have the most interesting things to say, make the most sense, and leave the greatest impression. I’m not sure if this was the intent of Gall’s script or the power of the actors themselves. Laine Satterfield appeared on this same stage just a few weeks prior in another dark comedy about a family drama in Cadence Theatre’s Smoke. [ See my review of Smoke here: https://jdldancesrva.com/2025/07/06/smoke/ ] Satterfield presents Cora as loud and angry, but she also shows a surprisingly unexpected empathy towards Sam. Cora is a more fully developed, three-dimensional character than Steve. Matt Meixler seems to spend much of his stage time on the floor. Sometimes he’s down there painting baseboards in preparation for his mother’s arrival. Sometimes he’s down there wallowing in the detritus of his life and his own bad choices and missed opportunities, all of which are encapsulated in Chris Raintree’s trash strewn set. Raintree’s scenic design, I must add, is phenomenal. The battle weary and generally dilapidated beach cottage, along with Grace Brown LaBelle’s sound design of waves washing the shore of the nearby lake and some appropriately evocative original music by Daniel Clarke are masterfully designed.

Steve’s preference for superhero tee shirts are a stark contrast to his station in life, and this is also masterfully highlighted in a late-night discussion with Dar. The seriousness of this conversation is offset by the humor that arises from Steve’s experience of trying weed for the first time. Meixler plays Steve with such a burden of defeat that there seems little hope of redemption. Nicole Morris-Anastasi carries the burden of Sam’s childhood neglect to the point that it almost seems unlikely that she could have withstood the pressures of medical school. We never learn why young Steve was so cruel to his sister, and I don’t think Morris-Anastasi ever found out, either. Her character seems never to fully come into focus.

Duke Lafoon, on the other hand – and much like his counterpart in Laine Satterfield – gives his character more depth than the main character he supports. Dar seems to have more of a backstory than Sam, and Lafoon teases by quietly observing and then releasing philosophical tidbits the way Jesus used parables to teach the masses.

Overall, this is a successful world premiere with a strong cast and high production values. Gall’s script and Paul Takács’ direction keep things moving, often using shocking words and outrageous actions. It’s not just, as I believe one character says early in Act 1, “meaningless routine punctuated by Amazon deliveries. Act 1 is full of secrets and anger. “By the end of Act 2, the siblings have made some confessions, realized some truths, and come to a new understanding. But nothing is really resolved. There is no redemption, and whatever victory has been achieved feels less than satisfactory, more of a concession than a real win. “What we have learned from history, is that no one learns from history.” Maybe that’s why we have theater.

———-

Here’s a link to a promo video of Burial Tax: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AktDm7pjz/

———-

Here’s my preview from the July 2025 issue of Richmond Magazine:

Firehouse Theatre Producing Artistic Director Nathaniel Shaw says an essential component of the theater “is to amplify local talent.”

Burial Tax, written by Andrew Gall and directed by Paul Takács, will have its world premiere at Firehouse, July 11-27. After two years in development under the working title “Lake Effect,” the work promises to be a hauntingly dark comedy about the reunion of two estranged siblings who gather with their spouses at their family’s lake house to spread the ashes of their recently deceased father. It’s a release of beauty and pain, a comedic experience of family dynamics, and a unique take on the pressures of adulthood.

Gall says, “It makes us think about a shared experience in a new way.”

https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/richmond-events/burial-tax-firehouse-theatre/

———-

———-

BURIAL TAX

Written by Andrew Gall

Directed by Paul Takács

CAST

Cora ….. Laine Satterfield

Samantha ….. Nicole Morris-Anastasi

Steve ….. Matt Meixler

Dar ….. Duke Lafoon

Cora U/S ….. Donna Marie Miller

Samantha U/S …. Rachel Dilliplane

Steve/Dar U/S …. Andy Braden

PRODUCTION TEAM & CREW

Direction ….. Paul Takács

Scenic Design ….. Chris Raintree

Lighting Design ….. Gretta Daughtrey

Costume Design ….. Sassy Rychalsk

Sound Design ….. Grace Brown LaBelle

Original Music Composer Daniel Clarke

Playwright ….. Andrew Gall

Assistant Director ….. Rachel Dilliplane

Stage Management ….. Emily Sanford Hicks

Asst Stage Management Isabel Stone

Tickets: $5-$35

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

Performance Schedule: July 9-27, 2025

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays @7:30PM

Saturdays & Sundays @2:00PM

Previews: July 9 & 10 (Pay-What-You-Will)

Opening Night: Friday, July 11

Closing: Sunday, July 27 @2:00PM

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

Make a one-time, monthly, or annual donation to support the continued publication of rvart review. writers need $, too!

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

Or enter a custom amount

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate Donate monthly Donate yearly

A CAMPY CHRISTMAS

WITH BELLS ON by Darrin Hagen

WHO’S HOLIDAY by Matthew Lombardo

With Bells On and Who’s Holiday!

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: November 13 – December 22, 2024, 2024

Ticket Prices: $55

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

———-

For some, the holiday season is heralded by a performance of The Nutcracker ballet. For others, it may be the arrival of the Richmond Triangle Players’ annual Christmas play. This year’s offering is a double bill of one-act plays: Darrin Hagen’s With Bells On and Matthew Lombardo’s Who’s Christmas.

First up is a zany yet somehow heart-warming tale of an introverted divorcé and a towering drag queen who get stuck in an elevator a few days before Christmas. Wette Midler plays the “glamazon” Natasha, who is on her way to an important, life-affirming pageant, while Doug Schneider plays Ted, an accountant who is venturing out on his own for the first time since his divorce.

William Luther’s scenic design is a simple open sided box, providing a wide-angled perspective of an elevator car, while all the attention is on Natasha, decked out in a glittery green Christmas themed dress topped off with an illuminated fascinator. Kudos to Alex Valentin for designing the posh queenly garb.

With Bells On is equal part light-hearted romp and entwined tales of self-discovery or liberation, in which Midler and Schneider’s characters gradually, warily warm up to one another, find a point of connection, and hang on for dear life. Along the way, they leave a trail of verbal gems the way Hansel and Gretel dropped breadcrumbs.

Natasha, feeling threatened by the more diminutive Ted, says, “I have fuchsia belt in whipping your ass.” (This reminded me of a line by the great poet James Brown: I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razor! from “The Payback.”) Later she says, “If you’re not standing out, you’re lurking.” Softening up, she parries with, “Do you know what drag queens call Halloween? Amateur night!” Midler is a force and a vision, but she and Schneider share space as equals who balance each other in sometimes unexpected ways. And, BTW, where can I get those green pumps in a size 10W?

Emily Dandridge held her own in a one-handed performance as a grown-up Cindy Loy Who, sharing just a tad TMI on her relationship with that mean old Grinch. (And yes, isn’t it a coincidence that, what with the near-simultaneous of the film version of Wicked, green is suddenly “in” as an identity (for lack of a better word).

This Cindy Lou Who has traded pink pajamas for metallic gold leggings and a Christmas-themed top – just the thing to wear while searching for tramadol in the couch cushions and washing it down with a cocktail of clear spirits (gin and vodka, I think). This Cindy Lou Who may be down on her luck, having spent time in prison and living in a well-worn trailer at the foot of Mount Crumpit, but she’s smart, exhibiting advanced critical thinking skills as each of her so-called friends calls to cancel their attendance at her holiday party, Highlights of Dandridge’s performance include an unexpected rap performance and sharing a very much real pan of pigs-in-blankets with the audience.

I don’t know if it was the luck of the draw or if a certain seat (whose location I will not disclose, just in case it’s part of the plot – I mean script) is always selected, but on opening night my husband Albert Ruffin was selected from the audience to join Cindy Lou onstage to be plied with alcohol and offered a little extra for dessert. It may have been all in good fun, but now I must live with the aftermath of him walking around talking about (a) how much fun he had and (b) how he always dreamed of a career onstage.

Thinking back, I think I like this version of Who’s Christmas more than I did RTP’s 2018 version. (See my review of the 2018 version here: https://wordpress.com/post/jdldancesrva.com/700). This parody has its dark moments, its alarming images, and it is not without valuable life lessons on the downside of mixed marriage, diversity, and who your real friends are. Dandridge did a decent job of interacting with the audience, as this play requires. So, grab a drink, sit back, and enjoy the show. No stress. No worries. No need to overthink.

———-

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. Her most recent (ad)venture was the premiere of a solo work, The Waters of Babylon or Psalm 137 Revisited: a Post-Exodus Reflection in Movement Choreographed From Collective Memories for the debut of the Critical Race Theatre Project, right here at RTP in August 2024.

———-

A CAMPY CHRISTMAS

Act One: WITH BELLS ON

Written by Darrin Hagen

Act Two: WHO’S HOLIDAY!

Written by Matthew Lombardo

Directed by Joe Pabst

Cast

Wette Midler as Natasha in With Bells On

Doug Schneider as Ted in With Bells On

Emily Dandridge as Cindy Lou Who in Who’s Holiday!

Understudies

Keegan Ferrell u/s for Natasha

Travis Williams u/s for Ted

CC Gates u/s for Cindy Lou Who

Production & Design

Playwrights – Darrin Hagen (With Bells On) and Matthew Lombardo (Who’s Holiday!)

Director – Joe Pabst

Scenic Design – William Luther

Lighting Design – Gabriel Beard

Costume Design – Alex Valentin

Sound Design – Lucian Restivo

Props Design – Tim Moehring

Hair & Makeup Design – Luke Newsome

Production Stage Manager – Lucian Restivo

Assistant Stage Manager – Finn Thomason

Gender Consultant – August Hundley

Master Electrician – Gabriel Beard

Technical Director & Scenic Artist – Rebecka Russo

Backstage Crew – Adri Ulm

Scenic Construction – David Ballas, Hunter Keck, Marcos O’Connor, Katie White

Settings & Times

With Bells On – An elevator in a high-rise apartment building, a few days before Christmas

Who’s Christmas! – A dilapidated trailer at the base of Mount Crumpit, Christmas Eve

Run Time

Approximately two hours, with one fifteen-minute intermission

Schedule of Performances

Thursday, November 21 at 8:00PM – OPENING NIGHT

Fridays, November 22, 29 & December 6, 13 & 20 at 8:00PM

Saturday, November 7 at 2:00PM

Saturdays, November 22, 29 & December 6, 13 & 20 at 8:00PM

Sundays, November 24, & December 1, 8, 15 & 22 at 4:00PM

Wednesday, December 18 at 8:00PM

Thursdays, December 5, 12 & 19 at 8:00PM

Ticket Information

$55, Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org

Photo Credit

Make a one-time HOLIDAY donation
if you enjoy reading RVART Review

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

Or enter a custom amount – no amount is too large…

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate Donate monthly Donate yearly

ROMAN À CLEF

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.

———-

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.

———-

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

Make a one-time donation
to help keep RVART REVIEW ALIVE

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

Or enter a custom amount

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate Donate monthly Donate yearly

RADIANT VERMIN

What Would You Be Willing to Do for a Free Dream House?

Presented by 5^th Wall Theatre

A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis

At: The Basement, 300 East Broad St, RVA 23219

Performances: March 14-30, 2024

Ticket Prices: $22

Info: https://5thwalltheatre.ludus.com/index.php or https://www.5thwalltheatre.org/

Unaffordable housing. Gentrification. Homelessness. These are serious issues that Philip Ridley has addressed in a two-act dark comedy, a satire that crosses the line from morality to immorality again and again and again.

Jill and Ollie are expecting their first child, but they reside in a drug and crime ridden neighborhood – Red Ocean Terrace. One day they receive a miracle; a hand-delivered letter offers the too-good-to-be-true deal of a free house. The house is in need of renovation, and therein lies the thick of the plot. The young couple accidentally discovers an unorthodox method of renovating their house, room by room. This involves Ollie driving the streets in search of anonymous homeless “renovators” – the “vermin” of the title. (For an explanation of the “radiant” part, you’ll need to see the show to figure it out.)

5^th Wall’s Creative Producer, Kaitlin Paige Longoria, plays the role of Jill and Matt Mitchell is Ollie. Longoria wears a child-like dress with short socks and a bow in her hair, while Mitchell wears a button down shirt and – I think – khakis. Jill is a bit manipulative, and Matt somewhat of a push-over. They both look fresh, clean cut, and innocent, and speak clearly in standard English, all of which makes their nefarious renovation activities all the more creepy.

Miss Dee, their ersatz realtor/benefactor, who represents a government program for Social Regeneration Through the Creation of Dream Homes, knows entirely too much about them. Ollie seems to protest briefly, but then both he and Jill all too easily accept that Miss Dee seems to have psychic abilities. But it’s worse than that. Miss Dee’s red coat subtly or not-so-subtly reminds us of Satan, and at the end she addresses the audience with a stack of contracts and offers for us to accept.

Emily Adler, who plays the snide and omniscient Miss Dee, also briefly takes on the role of Kay, one of the homeless “renovators.” This scene brought me near tears, as Kay, after sharing the testimony of her traumatic childhood and life on the streets, gladly offers herself as a sacrifice, giving Jill a kiss on the cheek before heading off to meet her demise at the end of Ollie’s “magic wand.” Whew!

As disturbing as it was, I was able to follow the story and found a certain clarity and logic until the end, when Jill and Ollie held a garden party – “the birthday party from hell,” for their son’s first birthday. During the party, they enact the roles of all the guests – their nearby neighbors – using different body language and accents for each couple. This section was simultaneously hilarious and even more disturbing than the main storyline that led up to it. It was as if the characters morphed and time-travelled from a Get Out situation to a Monty Python platform, from a classic morality play to a really bad Saturday Night Live skit.

Radiant Vermin is performed with a minimalistic set designed by Daniel Allen. A simple white wall – wainscotting or molding, I think it’s called – and a trio of matching white boxes with hinged lids that hold the few simple props, such as some candle sticks and party hats. There is no other furniture and we depend on the actors to create the changes of scene.

Both Ollie and Jill frequently speak directly to the audience, as does Miss Dee at the end. Ollie and Jill share the task of narrating the story, starting after the birth of their first child, then going back in time in an extended flashback with breaks to inform the audience of the changes in time and location.

During the garden party, Ollie experiences a mental breakdown and when they are alone Jill begins to see and hear things, and is eventually overcome by a choking sensation that we can attribute to her conscience. Ollis is also briefly overcome by this choking, but neither of them is willing to give up their pursuit of more and more material things, even if it costs them everything.

Radiant Vermin leaves much to the audience’s imagination, and Longoria and Mitchell prove to be pretty effective story tellers. Director Morrie Piersol successfully lures us in so that we barely realize when we begin to support the atrocities committed by this oh-so-ordinary couple and we feel uncomfortable – and rightly so – when this is brought to our attention. I could hardly believe two hours had passed at the end of the show. If you have a strong moral compass, this show may not be for you. But if you are intrigued by the weird or enjoy psychological thrillers, or – like me – have a penchant for reading about mass murderers, this might just be your cup of tea.

———-

RADIANT VERMIN

Written by Philip Ridley

Directed by Morrie Piersol

CAST

Jill ………. Kaitlin Paige Longoria

Ollie ………. Matt Mitchell

Miss Dee & Kay ………. Emily Adler

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed by ………. Morrie Piersol

Produced by ………. Tom Kazas

Scenic Design by ………. Daniel Allen

Lighting Design by ………. Michael Jarett

Sound Design by ………. Roger Price

Costume Design by ………. Kayli Warner

Vocal Coach ………. Amanda Durst

Technical Director ………. William Luther

Stage Management by …. Jamie Wilson

Asst Stage Management by Constance Moreau

Front of House Manager … D.J Cummings

Photos by ………. Tom Topinka

Performance Schedule:

● Opening Night – March 14, 2024 at 7:30 PM

● Running Thursday – Friday – Saturday at 7:30 PM through March 30, 2024

● Running Sundays at 2:00 PM through March 23, 2024

Tickets:

$22

Run Time: about 2 hours with one intermission

Make a donation to show your support of rvart review

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

$5.00

$15.00

$100.00

Or enter a custom amount

Thank you.
Your contribution is appreciated.

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate Donate monthly Donate yearly

PLEASE Make a one-time, MONTHLY, OR ANNUAL donation TO SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR RVART REVIEW!

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Make a one-time, monthly, or annual donation to support the continued publication of rvart review. writers need $, too!

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Make a one-time HOLIDAY donationif you enjoy reading RVART Review

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Make a one-time donationto help keep RVART REVIEW ALIVE

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Make a donation to show your support of rvart review

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Make a one-time HOLIDAY donation
if you enjoy reading RVART Review

Make a one-time donation
to help keep RVART REVIEW ALIVE