KONK Life Theater Review: THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

REVIEW OF THE THANKSGIVING PLAY AT THE RED BARN THEATER

by EB aka Ennid Berger | March 6, 2024

https://konklife.com/the-thanksgiving-play/

I am thankful to have been at the Red Barn Theater for opening night of “The Thanksgiving Play.” Before the play began, I was impressed  by Gary McDonald’s set design -nothing says classroom like institutionally green classroom walls, complete with the ubiquitous wall hung map of the United States.  The drama classroom we were transported to was a nostalgic setting for this contemporary and hilarious comedy.  We are here to observe four adults putting together a theatrical production for elementary school students – the question is, can they come together to produce a contemporary take on Thanksgiving honoring the Native American viewpoint.  This unusual play was written by Larissa Fasthorse, the first Native American playwright whose work was produced on Broadway.  Calling it a comedy of “performative wokeness,” the Broadway version of the play was produced with great success at the Helen Hayes Theater.  The current Key West production was directed by Mimi McDonald, the managing director of the Red Barn., who was “delighted to work on The Thanksgiving Play.”  The Red Barn’s artistic director, Joy Hawkins, added that writer Larissa Fasthorse had presented a one act play, hoping that the second act is one where you go home and talk about the play.

The cast consists of four white people attempting to write a culturally sensitive play for Native American history month.  Local resident, Elena Devers, plays Logan, and glows with excitement, perfectly playing the energetic and anxiety ridden drama teacher, the director of the play within the play.  She calls herself a “sensitive vegan” horrified by the slaughtered flesh of Thanksgiving turkeys, but in charge of rewriting the traditional holiday play to present one of contemporary wokeness and color blindness.  Arthur Crocker, perfectly cast as the yoga practicing Jaxton, is a physical comedian, especially funny in his pretend eating scenes .  Jeremy Zoma, historically accurate Caden, valiantly tries to keep the team on factually track but succumbs to the absurdity of the group.  Nina Pilar is the standout, cast as the beautiful and hot Alicia and drawing the eye with her graceful movements, stillness and comedic timing. She reveals the secret to being content in an overly busy world – “I don’t do anything.”

Try as they might, the inept foursome struggle to come up with a play that reflects the true Thanksgiving story from the Native American viewpoint. In horrifying comparison, we are shown intermittent and real Pinterest animations that are put forth as tools for teachers.  The “Injun” is shot down and other animated inequities are equally horrifying. The cast continuously experiments with numerous attempts to capture the realities of the first Thanksgiving.  Their earnest attempts include eating invisible food and speaking to invisible indigenous people to no avail until finally they realize that the empty stage  best represents the brutal history which can’t be spoken or staged. We are left struggling with the acknowledgement that there is no conclusive story – all remains disturbingly unresolved.  As stated by the Red Barn, as a community, “we recognize the ever-present systemic inequities that stem from past wrongdoings…the land that One Island Family now stands on and the waters surrounding Key west, were the traditional homes under the stewardship of the Mascogo, Seminole, Calusa and Taino Peoples.”