Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Bursts of drama from Flatbush to Washington Heights: Diane Exavier’s BERNARDA’S DAUGHTERS and Guadalís Del Carmen’s BEES & HONEY

• By drediman
• May 29, 2023
• No Comments

This holiday weekend, I attended a pair new domestic dramas set in our teeming city that vividly capture diverse perspectives. Here are my thoughts on them.

BERNARDA’S DAUGHTERS
The New Group (in partnership with National Black Theatre)
Through June 4

First up at the Pershing Square Signature Center is The New Group and National Black Theatre’s co-production of Bernarda’s Daughters (RECOMMENDED), Diane Exavier’s modern adaptation of Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba. Reset to current day Flatbush, the update tells the story of the five Abelard sisters, whose identities – as daughters, as women of Haitian descent, as residents of their gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood – are slowly slipping from their grasp. Torn between bravely facing an uncertain future and hiding themselves in their claustrophobic family home, the play finds these power and sensual women (gorgeously played by an ensemble cast) on the precipice of something that will change their lives forever. Throughout, Exavier’s writing is bold and poetic, although the playwright seems a bit indecisive on how to end the piece. With a pungent sense of time and place, the work is the best kind of adaptation – one that has a firm grasp of what it wants to accomplish and can stand on its own merits.

BEES & HONEY
MCC Theater (in partnership with The Sol Project)
Through June 11

Then just a few blocks north you’ll be able to find the Off-Broadway production of Bees & Honey (RECOMMENDED) by Guadalís Del Carmen. Presented by MCC Theater in association with The Sol Project, the two-hander chronicles the evolving relationship between Manuel and Johaira, a young married couple navigating the challenges of a respectful, committed relationship vis-à-vis their individual aspirations and inherent differences. The play is a slow burn, and it takes the time to create a fully three dimensional view of their marriage, as well as the two characters as individuals. Carmen also gives audiences a uniquely Latin perspective on the realities of nurturing a romantic relationship in Washington Heights. Although there are a few gaps in the narrative (particularly earlier on), the writing is by and large convincing, especially as vividly animated by Xavier Pacheco and Maribel Martinez as Manuel and Johaira, respectively. The production is helmed by director Melissa Crespo, whose staging confidently paced.