“Miss Lilly Gets Boned” By Bekah Brunstetter Directed by David F. Chapman At The New Ohio Theatre Reviewed by David Roberts, Chief Critic Theatre Reviews Limited
“Miss Lilly Gets Boned” is a brilliant and imaginative retelling of the myth of creation and the supposed “fall of humankind” after it scrambled (understandably) after the desire to know the difference between right and wrong. This pursuit, having annoyed the creator, resulted in the banishment of humankind from their Elysian field into a life of work, hardship, uncomfortable child birth, and the annoying sense that getting boned was wrong. Although this critical strategy for “reading” the performance of “Miss Lilly Gets Boned” – the mythological strategy – might seem limited, it and a dose William Butler Yeats helps sort out the significant message of Bekah Brunstetter’s remarkable and multi-layered script.
On the surface (the very surface most of the audience hee-hawed its way through the night this critic attended) “Miss Lilly Gets Boned” is exactly about devout Sunday School Teacher Miss Lilly (Jessica Dickey) getting boned and subsequently dumped -- oddly enough not only by her student Jordon’s father Richard (aka “Dick”) but by the very God she prays to every night. Once, while praying for the partner God has promised, Lilly confesses to “feeling very – warm. All the time. Down – there. Warm in a lonely way. A throbbing lack thereof.” Needing a sign that Richard is the one, she asks God to give her a clue, to “throw her a bone.” Just after this petition, the clouds open and a large bone drops onto the bed.
Counterpointing Lilly’s tale is that of Harold, the imprisoned elephant who -- in revenge for his parents’ death at the hand of poachers -- kills Richard’s wife and his son Jason’s mother. This darker tale reverberates with Lilly’s to expose the truth about humankind and the world it inhabits; namely, that “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity” (W.B. Yeats “The Second Coming”).
No one in “Miss Lilly Gets Boned” knows the danger of this fallen race more than ten-year-old Jordan (David Rosenblatt) who warns everyone “The others are coming. They no longer want to follow the rules.” The others are the other elephants who, like, humans are sick and tired of following the rules. Lilly is tired of following the rules. And that’s the rub really: after the fall and the breaking of rules things have been running amuk (or amok). Lilly’s sister Lara understands that best of the lot in Lilly-land and has best dealt with it with the most sophistication. You see Lara has HPV which she got from Nick.
While teaching her spinning class, Lara makes it all clear: “That’s it. Pedal. Ride your bike. That’s right, with your feet. I could tell you to imagine a road, but I’d be lying to you, People, we are inside right now. We are not on a road, we are inside of air conditioning. And you know what? I don’t know why you’re following me. I’m not good. But neither are any of you, but we are all here because we are trying, God bless us, we are. Also you know what? Nick back there – Hi Nick – he has HPV. In his balls.”
So that’s it really. Jordan and Lara know just as Yeats knew that “some rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born.” Maybe the beast is a disgruntled elephant. We will know soon.
The cast of “Miss Lilly Gets Boned” is at one and at rest with their characters, with each other, and – perhaps most importantly – with Brunstetter’s brilliant script. James Ortiz has crafted Harold the elephant with the ability to convince the audience he is a real elephant. Brian Belcinski, Adam Blodgett, and Aaron McDaniel are the bones, sinews, heart and soul of Harold and move him about the stage with believability and grace. Harold’s “doctor” Sanam Erfani sets the stage for the action of the play and makes the flashback compelling at the end. Jessica Dickey embodies Lilly beautifully exposing her fears, her hopes, and her disappointments in ways the audience connects to on a deep level. David Rosenblatt’s performance as the questioning, grieving, lonely Jordan is spot on. Liz Wisan is able make Lara beyond believable: her scene in the spinning class is brilliant. And Chris Thorn makes Richard’s grieving transparent and the underlying rage and fear come alive. Finally, David F. Chapman directs this important work as though Brunstetter’s script were his very diaphragm.
Kudos to Studio 42 and Ice Factory 2012 for bringing this work of genius to the stage. It will obviously have a life beyond this one and I long to see it again.
MISS LILLY GETS BONED
Directed by David F. Chapman. Produced by Eileen Lalley. Costume Design by Brenda Abbandandolo. Scenic Design by Caite Hevner. Light Design by Gertjan Houben. Puppet Design and Choreography by James Ortiz. Sound Design by Jill BC Du Boff. Properties Design by Sarah Dowling.
WITH: Brian Belcinski; Adam Blodgett; Jessica Dickey; Sanam Erfani; Aaron McDaniel; David Rosenblatt; Chris Thorn; and Liz Wisan.
Presented by Studio 42 and Ice Factory 2012 at the New Ohio Theatre’s new West Village space at 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in New York City.
“Miss Lilly Gets Boned” opened on June 18 and continues through July 21. Performances are Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7pm. Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students/seniors and can be purchased online at http://www.NewOhioTheatre.org or by calling SmartTix at 212-868-4444. For more information on the festival visit http://www.NewOhioTheatre.org, and for up-to-the-minute festival updates, join the conversation on Twitter, at @IceFactoryFest.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, July 20, 2012
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