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THEATER REVIEW- “THE WATER’S EDGE”
A Play Written by Linn Lane, Directed by Gayle Swanbeck and Produced by WomanKraft Mixed Media Players
On the waters edge, where the frogs, dragonflies and crawdads reign, it is easy to relax and enjoy the spectacle. The swoop and hum, the croaking, the building of mudhouses in which to hide; on a sunny mild day at the river, you could forget the relaxing scenery is all about the deep truths that defines the surface show. Predation. Sex. Instinct. So it was with Linn Lane's new play at the Proscenium Theater at Pima Community College West last October, "The Water's Edge". Sure, you can sit at the bank and enjoy the fun. Or you could descend with the rest of the cast and audience into the dark and unfamiliar territory of what lies deep and cold.
Being from Southern Indiana, the set was familiar to me: I like a white frill curtain at the kitchen window myself. I know about the low-slung couch covered with a hand crocheted throw. The bed with the stitched quilt, and a pseudo-faux Early American dinette set are staples in my relatives homes today. As the actors came to the stage one by one, I settled into what I assumed would be the predictable down-home characters habituating this space, and wouldn't you know it? Just like my experience both distant and recent with home folks, these one-dimensional stereotypes, simple and undemanding, blossomed into real people when confronted with the consequences of their actions, which, for all of us, can be that terrible and unfamiliar territory that we learn to call home.
At the center of the story is a deceptively complex man: aging pot-grower and survivalist, Tod, has given up his wild anti-war protesting days to settle in a small rural southern community peopled by the extended family of his wife Ann, and teen-aged daughter Jenny.
Tod is a bit of a self righteous blowhard, although endearing in his simplicity: he wants to keep his kid safe, his wife happy, grow his pot and help the local sheriff track a criminal down now and then. It helps that his buddy (and family friend) the sheriff is blind to Tod's profitable new "crop" in what had been tobacco fields. All around, everybody is happy with the way things are. Tod lights one up on the stage on more than one occasion.
Circumstances are about to change all that.
Marina, an old friend from his crazy college days blows into town unexpectedly, offering with proffered check to rent Tod's spare cabin. Much to the consternation of Ann, a perfect Southern belle. You know the one I mean: she'd tell you your dress was becoming when it made you look terrible, because she wants you to wear it again. And often. Ann is a perfect combination of controlling Southern bitch, guiltified Midwest homophobic and a subtle jealous wench if I ever saw one. And I have seen more than one.
Add to the mix that Marina is a lesbian and is running from a broken relationship; Tod is her oldest and best friend, as well as ex-boyfriend, AND they have a terrible secret from their past. Not to mention daughter Jenny is fascinated by Marina...you'd think Ann is almost justified in her suspicions. Change is after all, unwanted in sleepy little towns. But little by little, we see that there is more to her intolerance. Ann has a secret too; you slowly suspect her jealousy is provoked by her own projected guilt. I loved the deft yet slowly revealed psychological drama of Ann. You might hate her, but you also understand her. Snide remarks, arguments ensue; then she takes Jenny clothes shopping. Just like home!
And poor Jenny...like any 16 year-old trapped in a small town, she wants more. Mostly, more information. Is Marina a lesbian? What happened to her last relationship? How does one become a lesbian? Am I a lesbian? Gradually, precocious Jenny and broken-hearted Marina forge a friendship. Jenny wants to fix things for her new buddy. Relying on her new sense of gay-dar, Jenny remembers Gwen, the sales clerk from her day shopping with mama, and begins a matchmaking scheme for Marina.
Never mind Jenny is plagued by a need to drown herself in the river and must be locked in the house at night to prevent nightmares and sleepwalking. She wont tell why and her poor parents think she will grow out of it. (In the end, it becomes true. But God forbid that anyone gets outside help. Those Evil Outsiders. Brrrrrrrr!)
Then, the local sheriff is murdered. A horrified Tod and Ann are called to a community meeting to discuss the issue...Tod is going to be named the new sheriff. But now it turns out the pesky secret from his past with Marina included some bombing and burning back in the day. Ann is shocked and pissed: who is this man she married? But more importantly, what will the family think?
With Tod and Ann gone for the evening, Marina babysits Jenny, who opportunistically invites Gwen to a homemade gumbo dinner. Matchmaking Jenny is satisfied when Gwen and Marina hit it off. But later, the nightmares which have disturbed Jenny for years will come to the fore during a well-crafted thunderstorm and Jenny descends literally to the water's edge. Marina wakes up in time to find her nearly drowned. Jenny is forced to reveal her own secret to Marina, further cementing their strange friendship. Knowing the old-fashioned notions of Tod and Ann, Marina must keep that secret until Jenny receives the help she needs.
As Jenny heals, and the relationship between Marina and Gwen grows, the murder investigation reveals a hotbed of small town lesbian relationships leading to the suspect. A truck is burned, guns are thrown into the river, and Ann and Tod begin the slow self-destruction of their marriage built on lies, while reminding themselves and each other that Jenny's healing will require them both to rise above their judgments of each one's past and present behaviors. For Ann is revealed to have had a lesbian relationship for years. She doesn't want to call it "that", but "that" is definitely what "it" is.
Happily, there is no "happy ending"; the water's edge wouldn't provide one anyway as the show is simply going to reveal itself continuously even after you get home. The themes of gross denial, betrayal and truth-telling, tolerance and lies, all reminded me of my own youth and relatives. But the play does provide awkward resolutions, a resolved heartbreak with a new beginning, and more questions than answers. Just like real life.
The play is about two people and how their lives change when three secrets are revealed, but it is also about a whole lot more. It is also about how subtly those secrets are revealed. How one defines themselves to themselves, and to others. Labels. Tolerance. Lies. You are left saying this to your self :"Self, what would I do?" For the situations are all too common and thematic to anyone's life. There are simply no easy answers.
You can sit on the water's edge and watch the players come and go. Humming and thrumming dragonflies and fantastical creatures, and forget what it is really about. Or you can dive in and explore the deep and familiar themes of love, life, death, rape, betrayal and friendship.
If you didn't get a chance to see Linn Lane's "The Water's Edge, then I hope you are able, sometime in the future. Stay tuned to the WomanKraft Newsletter for more information. In the meantime, I will say that I am usually a restless spectator and it is hard for me to experience suspension of disbelief. However, I spent three hours lost in this real life parable because it went to the deep, the home where we all really live, whether we want to admit it or not...and left me with a strange feeling of familiarity and satisfaction.
Review written by “Paige Turner”, a new pen name of a certain, publicity-minded WK member
For photos of this play, go to Water’s Edge
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