Reviewed by Judy Richter
Teacher Sydney Garrison's (Julia
Brothers) calm,
yet in control manner with her class of first graders belies the turmoil of the
rest of her life, as we soon discover in "The First Grade." Aurora Theatre Company is giving Joel Drake Johnson's intermissionless play its
world premiere in a well-acted production directed by artistic director Tom
Ross. Even
though Sydney is hurting physically from arthritis and emotionally from
upheavals in her family, she's still a caring person. That becomes evident when
she meets her physical therapist, Mora (Tina Sanchez), and soon learns that Mora's
family life is far from happy, too. She reaches out to Mora, but Mora initially
doesn't want to trouble her client.
Sydney's
family problems start with her ex-husband, Nat (Warren David Keith), an alcoholic who still lives
in their home and brings his girlfriend (we don't meet her) there while waiting
for the house to sell. Their adult daughter, Angie (Rebecca Schweitzer), and her pre-school son have
moved in with them because she's estranged from her husband.
There's
bickering aplenty between Sydney and Nat and between Sydney and Angie, but
outside forces intervene. Late one night, actually early one morning, Mora
arrives at their door, saying she's fleeing from her abusive husband. Worse,
her husband, Jamie (Adrian Anchondo), shows up with his father, Rick (Paul Santiago), to confront Mora in their
front yard, with much of the dialogue in Spanish. After some shocking
revelations, there's a measure of hope for Sydney and Nat.
Johnson
develops the characters well as he builds the tension, but he knows when to
provide some needed release through humor. Ross has a good feel for the
characters and emotional arc, although the scene with Mora's husband and father
is too loud for Aurora's intimate space.
Brothers
is superb as Sydney, whose arthritis, an autoimmune disease, she says, might be
an outgrowth of her emotional problems or at least symbolic of them. Her stiff
movements reflect the pain of Sydney's arthritic joints. Keith and Schweitzer
as her ex and daughter are well-paired with her, as is Sanchez as Mora, a
character who can't be completely trusted.
Nina
Ball's set
captures the feeling of a classroom, then evolves into a physical therapy
studio and the Garrison home. Ted Crimy's sound design includes children responding to
their teacher. Also aiding the production are Jarrod Fischer's lighting and Cassandra
Carpenter's
costumes.
This
thought-provoking play deserves additional productions.
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