Theatrius
  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us
  • Search Icon

Theatrius

Theater Reviews—San Francisco and Beyond

“Two Mile Hollow” Ridicules Ruling Class, at Ferocious Lotus, S.F.

“Two Mile Hollow” Ridicules Ruling Class, at Ferocious Lotus, S.F.

June 29, 2018 Susan Dunn

Winkler Throws Privileged Whites to the Birds

by Susan Dunn

Leah Nanako Winkler is on a mission.  She’s tired of the old theater formulas:  white folks sitting around the dinner table airing their angst, exploding their family myths, and then closing ranks against any outsiders. In “Two Mile Hollow,” affluent whites are targets of satire with a double twist: Asian actors play exaggerated versions of all the white folks.

Winkler pursues the privileged Upper Crust portrayed in “white people by the water plays,” the highly educated who avoid work. These Yalies sport a strict WASP wardrobe—bow ties and seersucker suits. They while away their summers in the Hamptons.

Michelle Talgarow, Greg Ayers, Karein Offereins, Sean Fenton, Rinabeth Apostol. Photos: Annie Wang

The Donnelly family has gathered for the last time at their East Coast summer homestead, each an over the top parody of personalities from well-known plays. Here you have the ingredients for family mayhem.

Self-loathing daughter Mary (Karen Offereins) communes on the porch, pretending she is a bird, a fantasy she needs to soar away from her disdainful mother Blythe (Michele Talgarow).

In true co-dependent style, Mary’s sole occupation appears to be taking care of Blythe. This manipulative, pill-popping, controlling mother claims to have cancer to cover her drug habit and elicit sympathy. Are you feeling Eugene O’Neill, yet?

Sean Fenton, Karen Offereins, Michelle Talgarow, Greg Ayers

Mary’s bi-polar brother Joshua (hilarious, frenetic Greg Ayers) refuses to work. Joshua rags on his worthlessness and lack of good looks, when he isn’t flashing his college T-shirt, or singing the Yale chant, “Boula Boula.”

Younger brother Christopher (winning, winking Sean Fenton), a handsome, successful actor, enters as the family member they agree to envy and hate.

Greg Ayers and Karen Offereins

Into this toxic mix, add striving Charlotte, a ‘person of color’ who works for Christopher, taking care of him professionally and personally. Charlotte sees Christopher as her ticket out of her servitude. She hopes his Hollywood connections will elevate her to writer and producer.

Pretty Charlotte (talented Rinabeth Apostol) gets sucked into the affluent Donnelly family vortex. Rather than holding up a mirror to the insufferable Donnellys, she falls for pathetic Joshua. Will marriage to him provide a step up?

Greg Ayers, Sean Fenton, and Karen Offereins

“Two Mile Hollow” banks on physical humor, with Joshua and Christopher smearing their faces with dirt to show their feelings. Other family members freeze the action by suddenly spouting passages from Anton Chekhov, Tennessee Williams, Tracy Letts, and other “white guy” dramatists.

Winkler’s characters suddenly act like birds, cawing again and again. They protect their nest with flapping wings and feathers. Using satire and comedy, Winkler attacks persistent class and racial injustice in the U.S. Despite the Donnellys’ promises, Charlotte is used and abused by the callous American family.

But can we believe in Charlotte if the rest of the cast is in cartoon mode? See “Two Mile Hollow” for the physical entertainment it offers, and witty resonances with classic plays, but don’t expect a full meal.

 

“Two Mile Hollow” by Leah Nanako Winkler, directed by Lily Tung Crystal, for Ferocious Lotus, at Potrero Stage, San Francisco, through Sunday, July 15, 2018.  Info: ferociouslotus.org.

Cast:  Rinabeth Apostol, Greg Ayers, Michelle Talgarow, Karen Offereins, and Sean Fenton.

Banner photo: Rinabeth Apostol, Sean Fenton, Karen Offereins, Michelle Talgarow, Greg Ayers.


Plays
Anton Chekhov, Elitism, Eugene O'Neill, inequality, Injustice, poverty, privileged family, racism, ruling class, social class, Tracy Letts, upper crust

Post navigation

NEXT
“Universal Robots” Mesmerizes, at Quantum Dragon, S.F.
PREVIOUS
“In Braunau” Thrills with Dark Past, at S.F. Playhouse
Comments are closed.

Menu

  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us

BLM

Black Lives Matter

Subscribe for upcoming reviews!
Loading

Current Shows

  • “Slow Food”: Three Superb Actors Serve Up Quick Laughs—at Altarena
  • “The Indigo Room” Magically Translates Indigenous Stories—at La MaMa, N.Y.
  • “The Never Too Late Show”: Tales of Hilarious Homeboy in Hollywood—at The Marsh
  • “Poetic Justice” Exalts Passionate Modern Poets—at The Marsh
  • “As You Like It”: Weaves Past & Future in Magical Forest—at SF Playhouse
  • “Beetlejuice, The Musical” Parties Hard and Fast—at BroadwaySF
  • “Hailie!” Celebrates the Queen of Gospel’s Triumphs—at Lorraine Hansberry
  • “Little Shop of Horrors”: Killer Plant Blooms in Chinatown—at TheatreWorks
  • “Ham for the Holidays” Lightens the Heart—at Main Stage West 
  • “Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski” Is Unforgettable—at Berkeley Rep
  • “A Year with Frog and Toad”: Episodes of Woodland Friendship—at BACT
  • “Shoshana in December”: A Holiday Musical for Jews & Polyamors—at Custom Made
  • “Wuthering Heights” Takes Us from Darkness to Light—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Natasha, Pierre & Great Comet of 1812”: A Musical Triumph—at Shotgun
  • “Two Trains Running” Celebrates Civil Rights Era Black Bravery—at MTC

About us:

If you want to see the best plays & performances around the San Francisco Bay or beyond, read our reviews. We promise to give you a true report on the best shows.
Bay Area Critics Circle

Barry David Horwitz, Editor of Theatrius, is a Voting Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle, SFBATCC. Follow us on: facebook.com

© 2023   All Rights Reserved.