Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Assessing two deep cuts: Mint’s rare revival of SUMP’N LIKE WINGS and Gingold Theatrical Group’s revamp of THE DEVIL’S DISCIPLE

• By drediman
• November 6, 2024
• No Comments

Over the years, two Off-Broadway theater companies — Mint Theater Company and Gingold Theatrical Group — have made it their mission to dust off plays on the brink of falling through the cracks of time (in the case of the latter company, works by one playwright in particular). This autumn, each presented deep cuts that had me thinking where we came from as a country, and where we are headed to next. As per usual, read on for my thoughts.

SUMP’N LIKE WINGS
Mint Theater Company
Closed

For its fall offering, Mint Theater Company rummaged through the proverbial chest of all-but-forgotten plays and has chosen to make a go of Sump’n Like Wings (RECOMMENDED) by Lynn Riggs (the playwright perhaps best known for having penned Green Grow the Lilacs, the 1931 play on which Rodgers and Hammerstein’s seminal musical Oklahoma! is based). Mint’s Off-Broadway production at Theatre Row — which concluded its limited run last week — marks the play’s unlikely New York debut just about a century onwards from its original premiere (although the play was first performed in Detroit in 1925, it never made it to the Big Apple). In short, Sump’n Like Wings tells the tough coming-of-age story of Willie, a spirited, strong-willed girl whose first instinct is to rebel at every turn, particularly when it comes to dealing with her overworked and overbearing mother. On the surface, the play may seem little more than a cautionary tale for how not to raise a child. However, Riggs’ play is actually a bit more nuanced than that — thanks to some carefully drawn characters — making it unfair to draw such simple conclusions. As staged and designed, Raelle Myrick-Hodges’s subtle and tasteful production unfolds deliberately, its thoughtful cadence bordering on tentativeness. Thankfully, the acting is strong and supple enough to dispel any such fears, starting with Mariah Lee, whose blunt portrayal of Willie becomes increasingly layered as the years pass, eventually evolving into the prototype of a modern woman. As her religious and strict mother, Julia Brothers creates a thoroughly three-dimensional character — a tight-lipped yet well-meaning woman who is genuinely at a loss over how to raise her child. And as Willie’s uncle, Richards Lear conjures a tender portrayal that gets a whole lot more complicated upon closer inspection.

THE DEVIL’S DISCIPLE
Gingold Theatrical Group
Through November 23

Then there’s Gingold Theatrical Group’s Off-Broadway revival of George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple (RECOMMENDED) — also at Theatre Row — which I happened to catch on Election Night (the production was one of only a handful of shows playing last night). Set in America during revolutionary times, the 1897 play tells the story of one Richard Dudgeon, an outsider who, despite his self-professed allegiance to the devil, paradoxically turns out to be the hero that saves the day. In his ongoing endeavor to make Bernard Shaw accessible and relevant, David Staller — Gingold Theatrical Group’s longtime artistic director — has substantially overhauled the piece, one of Bernard Shaw’s earlier works and the playwright’s first commercial success. Indeed, for this revival — a revisal, really — Staller has streamlined the text and has made the decision to cast a company comprised entirely of women to play all the parts. As a result, the work’s comic elements have become more pronounced, and the pure exchange of ideas (the hallmark of Bernard Shaw plays) has taken obvious priority over character development and naturalistic world building. Although the acting by the cast of five veteran stage actresses ranges from serviceable to very good, they especially shine as an ensemble, particularly in their collective effort to address the play’s central dilemma — whether to destroy or renovate this broken house of a country (the set is literally a decrepit interior of a house, which I thought was a bit on the nose). Although I would second guess Bernard Shaw’s recommended course of action after last night’s results, I was nonetheless complelled by the genuine concern conveyed by Staller’s timely production.