I love it when my first impression turns out to be so, so wrong.
When writing reviews for holiday plays, I view them somewhat like my own family holiday. I hope everyone will feel welcomed and respected, they’ll get what they need, we’ll have fun, and that I will stick only food, not my foot, into my mouth.
But then it begins.
The Thanksgiving Play begins with the equivalent of starting table chatter with talk of race and politics: a cute but painful video attempting culturally appropriateness; characters trying too hard to be who they thought they should be.
Oh no, it’s going to be a looong night.
Before long, I began to realize the genius hiding under the turkey feathers. In this case, theatre teacher Logan (Laine Satterfield) has received several prestigious grants to produce a culturally appropriate and accurate Thanksgiving play for her students. She brings boyfriend and fellow actor Jaxton (Paul Dandridge), history teacher/dramaturg (“what is that, anyway?”) Caden (Otto Konrad), and recruits an actress from LA, Alicia (AnnaStarnes Blair) to collaborate to compose and perform the play.
When the scripts proposed by Caden turn out to be the tragic narratives left unsaid at most of our tables, and the actor with the supposedly indigenous perspective has anything but, we wonder with amusement how this cast will pull off their aspirational offering.
Ah, this drumstick has some meat after all.
Just like at grandma’s, this feast comes together magically one dish at a time despite what initially seems like turkey feed. First, the appetizer is a storyline that artfully melds the bitter with sweet as playwright Larissa FastHorse (through Caden) educates us about the tragic side of our beloved November holiday.
The main course features a simply adorned but accurate mirror accompanied with a side of folly as we seek and find the delicate balance between the notes of respect, cultural appropriateness, and tokenism. A generous pour of humility, garnished with a playful amount of spice, smothers the offering in a way that somehow feels nourishing.
Finally, the meal’s denouement is a heaping helping of love, admiration, and compassion for ourselves as we make our way through the complexity of being human. I devoured all of it.
This feast, deliciously directed by Anna Senechal Johnson, was no turkey. This 80-minute masterpiece (no intermission), prepped lovingly by Cadence Theatre in partnership with Virginia Rep, was surrounded by perfect decor comprised of costume, lighting, scenic design, and video productions that made me revel in its cringeworthy, funny genius.
A gathering not to be missed, bring your whole family to gobble up this deeply satisfying celebration of our messy, sad, ironic, and yet beautiful human family. From Cadence Theatre and showing at Virginia Rep’s Theatre Gym, The Thanksgiving Play runs through November 19. For showtimes and tickets, visit cadencetheatre.org.
