Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – At the New Victory, CARTOGRAPHY constructively spins the refugee experience

• By drediman
• January 15, 2020
• No Comments

The company of Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers’ “Cartography” at the New Victory Theater. Photo by Elman Studio.

This past weekend amidst my hectic Under the Radar immersion downtown, I was able to fit in a viewing of Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers’ Cartography at the New Victory Theater. I’ve long championed the programming at the New Victory, an institution dedicated to presenting works for young audiences (which is not to say that their adult companions will be bored; far from it). With its latest offering, the theater company once again winningly meets its mandate for mounting eclectic, thoughtful works that broaden the horizons of young minds.

Best suited for persons ages 10 and above, Cartography attempts to constructively spin and put a human face on the refugee experience. It’s an unusual and relatively weighty topic for children’s theater, but I’m happy to share that the piece has been assembled with care and surprisingly little glossing over. The work makes the case that this sort of forced migration is a widespread global phenomenon, one that not only has much-documented negative consequences and challenges, but also encouraging benefits. The show goes on to make the powerful universal point that everyone has a personal journey and the inspiring potential to courageously chart their own self-defined “maps”.

The production has been ingeniously staged by Ms. Schaal and Mr. Myers (they share both writing and directing credits). Their staging involves the use of video projections and an array of large boxes that are constantly reconfigured throughout the course of the episodic, efficiently-paced evening. The quintet of young, charismatic performers do persuasive work. Clearly, the topic is near and dear to their hearts, and it shows. Indeed, for me the most moving segment of the show involves the actors portraying their respective family’s story of migration and immigration. Ultimately, I found Cartography to be a powerful example of upbeat political theater for budding theater-goers.

RECOMMENDED

CARTOGRAPHY
Off-Broadway, Play
New Victory Theater
1 hour, 5 minutes (without an intermission)
Through January 19