By Rachel Goddard       

 

It’s no secret that in today’s times the media (as we so often like to call the all-powerful bearer of bad news) picks and chooses what events they want us to know about. Looking through history, this is not a new pattern. Stories go untold and widespread tragedies are forgotten, that is until Gregorian; a new play by Matthew Greene (Adam and Steve and The Empty Sea), produced by Working Artists Theatre. Gregorian cycles through four generations, beginning with Bedros Gregorian, a refugee of the forgotten prequel to the holocaust; the Armenian genocide, the horrific events that set the precedent for the bloodiest century in history. In this raw new play each generation and each’s current crisis wrestle with the same grief, questions and refusal to stay silent in times of injustice.

 

At the top of the show we see a small stage squared around a carpet that looks like a map with artistic blood splatters on it and a few pieces of furniture before an abrupt blackout. Vague yet piecing sounds of chaos and destruction are heard before the lights come back up. These aren’t just the sounds of the Armenian genocide in 1915, where the play begins, but rather of all horrific acts throughout the century up until the present. The gap between the tragedies of the past and present day is closed before the first line is spoken.

 

The four generations of Gregorian men (all played by Aaron Lynn, The Glory of the World, BAM) rotate through and repeat like the four seasons. Each generation feels more relevant to our time than the one before until the cycle starts over again, each time we begin to see ourselves more and more in the early generations, as we take pieces away from the latter ones. As some of the character in the play said, “where the needle passes the thread goes also.” 

 

 

Heather Lang (An American in Paris) plays Gladys Palmer, a well-off housewife in a loveless marriage who has taken in, Bedros Gregorian and his young son, Alex as refugees who’ve escaped the Armenian genocide. Lang brings depth and hope to her scenes even as her character bestrides the comedic struggles of making good macaroons and the severe struggles of loneliness and feeling helpless in situation of great crisis as so many people feel today.

 

Margaret Reed (Orson’s Shadow) plays Frances Marion, a Hollywood script writer pre-World War II on a film that now the grown son, Alex is working on and trying to pitch his novel about the Armenian genocide to her. Reed brought a shrewd yet likable quality to the role as well as a sincerity that characters like hers often lack. Madeleine Barker (Grease) plays the fiancé of Daniel, Alex’s son. Direct and subtly romantic, Barker’s portrayal of the congressional speech writer gave the audience yet another strong female character to route for. Geri-Nikole Love (Jay & Ruby Get Religion) adds to the strong female category featured in this play as Sonia Riza, a Rwandan genocide survivor who has become the “it girl” of humanitarian work in Darfur in the early 2000s. Love’s performance was piercing and memorable, treating Greene’s words as scripture and delivering her character’s arguments that served as a convicting reality check to every member of the audience who may have thought they know what’s best for a victim in another country.

 

Aaron Lynn gives an impressive performance jumping quickly through all four roles, a flawless Armenian accent, spans ten decades and makes it all look effortless, honest, and seamless. Most actors don’t get the chance to showcase this level of versatility in their whole career and Lynn had opportunity to do so in only a ninety minute play. From the timid and scarred Bedros, to the hopeful, determined Alex, to the angry and zealous Daniel and to the idealistic, contemporary, Peter, Lynn showcases aspects of our culture in each character, exposing our culture’s addiction to unhelpful activism. 

 

Under the strong leadership of Jessica Dermody (who has worked as part of numerous Broadway companies, including The Producers, Movin’ Out, West Side Story) (director) and Charlie Sutton (movement & staging) (An American in Paris), the collaboration of the cast gave a powerful narrative more than just life but a poignancy that is much needed. Sutton’s movement steered clear of overindulgence and guided the scenes with subtle specificity. The lighting by Michael O’Connor and set by Jeff Hincheee created together stunning stage pictures that pulled the imagination out of the boxes are minds put history into the reality that we live in. Tina McCartney’s costumes gave the perfect tell of the character and setting without creating a divide between them and the audience.

 

Greene’s play exposed the ever present mark people  are left with after persecution and the importance of telling the truth. But as one of his character’s scolds the other, “everyone already knows the truth, you just want to be the one to tell it to him.” Our culture’s desperation to find a cause and change the world as a source of an ego boost is contrasted with the very real need to do something about injustice and not let evil history repeat itself. Layered with the weight of heritage and the memorial a person carries from the tragedies of our lineage, Greene’s writing is absolutely timeless. Surpassing the trends of biting, contemporary writing, Greene’s play is honest yet hopeful. With clever, well-balanced arguments, and fully realized, complicated characters, Greene’s play is remarkable and painfully relevant.

 

Working Artist Theatre Project

Walkerspace Theatre

46 Walker Street

August 18-September 2, 2016

http://www.watproject.com/#!gregorian/howqb