Krysta Rodriguez in What We're Up Against (c) Joan Marcus.jpg

 

What We're Up Against

 

                                              by Arney Rosenblat

 

"What We're Up Against" is a scorching and disturbingly timely tale about sexism and gender politics.  It is set in a small architectural firm facing the challenge of how to fulfill a commission to expand a shopping mall which has complex structural issues.  It was originally written in 1992 by Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck  not long after the time Anita Hill was excoriated when she testified at a Senate hearing accusing Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.  Sadly, the play's spotlight on misogyny and abuse is still all too relevant.

 

Though Ms. Rebeck's play, "What We're Up Against" does not focus on sexual harassment, it does bore in on all the many ways that men in power force women to go-along to get along, bullying them and wearing them down while they are just trying to be the best they can at their jobs as well as the retribution typically meted out when they dare to show their anger or frustration.   Sharply directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt with set design by Narelle Sissons, the audience knows instantly when they see the two-tiered set which puts the men's offices on top and the women's below how the system all too frequently works. 

 

Don't be put off, however, just because you think you know what may be coming, "What We're Up Against" is not a tedious polemic but a stark mirror on three-dimensional individuals trying to carve out their place in their corporate culture, whether it means climbing up the ladder, holding tight to its rungs or not getting pushed off from your top perch of power.  One can say it's almost all about power, how to get it and how to wield it, no matter where you are on the corporate ladder.

 

The story line follows a bright, creative, ambitious young female architect, Eliza, compellingly played by Krysta Rodriguez, who has been newly hired by the firm's owner (sparking rumors that she must be sleeping with him) and who is eager to take her place in her firm's hierarchy.  Eliza, however, is blocked and isolated at every turn.

 

Damian Young, Skylar Astin

 

Says the arrogant team leader Stu, Damien Young, "I explained…when she has experience, she'll be put on projects.  She wants to know how she can get the experience if she's not on a project… And so I tell her: Initiative, Initiative, that's how the system works, that's how America works..."   

 

The viewer knows this is nonsense, as Stu has already expressed his disdain and fury at her aggressive initiative, when she tricked (and embarrassed) him earlier by bringing him a design that addresses the mall expansion problems with the name of Weber (Skylar Astin), a popular, sycophantic male co-worker, and asking Stu to explain what she should learn from what was good about it.  Only after the fact, did she reveal that the design was actually her own. “This is what we're up against," Stu fumes, totally dismissing the value of the design, when he retells the incident to Ben (Jim Parrack), a project team member.

 

Eliza, however, is not the only female architect at the firm, prompting one of the male project team members to comment sarcastically, "What do we need another woman for? We have one…what do we need to stockpile women for" .That token project team woman is Janice, who is brought to life by Marg Helgenberger in a beautifully nuanced performance.  

 

Marg Helgenberger, Krysta Rodriguez 

 

Janice has spent six years ingratiating herself into the corporate mainstream by flattering and deferring to her male colleagues while keeping her expectations low.  She is all too aware that her actions reflect not only on herself but on all women who might want to come after her.  But now that she's clawed her way to a place at the table she doesn't want to lose her seat to a newbie who sees that seat as a right not a privilege and who ultimately devises a clever plan to seize that right, providing some well-deserved across the board payback

 

"You hate me...because I play ball." Janice finally says to Eliza in one of the plays most poignant scenes,”well somebody had to play ball… It was the only way to stay in the room.  But we did stay there and we held the door open so that you could waltz in and be equal.  And now you want to slam it in my face?"

 

The cast in "What We're Up Against" is outstanding, one and all, totally engaging the audience in the lives of their characters while keeping even the most contemptible and phony of them real and not caricatures.  Sound designer M.L. Dogg propels the fast paced story forward with up-tempo '90s-style pop music while lighting designer Grant Yeager supports the pace and tension by creating a tight dance floor style set where each of the characters do battle with one another.

 

WP Theater is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing and promoting the work of female-identified and trans theater artists

 

Off Broadway

WP Theater

2162 Broadway

212-352-3101

wptheater.org

Running time: one hour and 35 minutes

Closing date: December 3