If You Ask Me…
By Tom Holehan
Connecticut Critics Circle
It comes down to just 23 inches of space between two neighbors with adjoining backyards. But that area is the source of contention that might just be a metaphor for the current political climate in our country.
Karen Zacarias very funny and timely new comedy, “Native Gardens”, is currently onstage at the Westport Country Playhouse and is bound to hit home for many theatregoers.
“Native Gardens” is set in the adjoining backyards of old-timers Frank (Adam Heller) and Virginia (Paula Leggett Chase) and their new next door neighbors, high-powered attorney Pablo (Anthony Michael Martinez) and his very pregnant wife, Tania (Linedy Genao).
The comedy explores timely themes of immigration, racism, ageism and white privilege. Initial pleasantries dissolve quickly when the two couples disagree over property lines and gardening and a dispute over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class and entitlement.
Zacarias has a splendid ear for dialogue and, under Joann M. Hunter’s briskly paced direction, the zingers fly as tension and tempers flare. The four actors contrast perfectly together with Genao especially good as a potential peacemaker desperately trying to tamp down her feelings of injustice. Martinez captures the polished ambitions of a young lawyer who knows he has to work twice as hard as anyone else in his firm to succeed.
I loved Chase’s imperious demeanor as Virginia, never funnier than when she speculates that the new neighbors might be – horrors – Democrats! The reliable Adam Heller completes the foursome with a funny and perceptive performance as a slightly more educated Archie Bunker. At one hilarious moment he confesses that he “almost voted for Obama”.
The crucial set design by Anna Louizos perfectly details the drastic differences between the two backyards. It is quite a floral accomplishment, but I wonder if there was a better way to accommodate the actors as they try to navigate the busy yard?
Charlie Morrison’s lighting is filtered with leafy motifs and John Gromada’s sound design has fun with the music choices between scenes. The play itself may have too neat a conclusion, too tidy and convenient while wrapping up the complicated issues it has raised. But when a cast delivers the goods so well and a play produces a steady supply of smart laughs, all is forgiven by curtain. “Native Gardens” is a highly entertaining way to spend 90 minutes.
“Native Gardens” continues at the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court in Westport, Connecticut through March 8. For further information and ticket reservations call the theatre box office at (203) 227-4177or visit: www.westportcountryplayhouse.org.
Tom Holehan is one of the founders of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a frequent contributor to WPKN Radio’s “State of the Arts” program and the Stratford Crier and Artistic Director of Stratford’s Square One Theatre Company. He welcomes comments at: tholehan@yahoo.com. His reviews and other theatre information can be found on the Connecticut Critics Circle website: www.ctcritics.org.
