One
often hears about the big Broadway shows but little about the cleverly
written thoughtful plays that appeal to the mind. "When We Were Young
and Unafraid" (by Sarah Treem) , is one of those rare breed of great
drama that challenges the intellect and soul - in a contemplative,
gentle manner. It played this past summer in New York City.
I saw this play July 23, 2014, at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Full
house. I had learned of it from a recent review of two feminist plays
in the Sunday NYTimes. The play was tremendously well done and written,
with a nice balance of drama,tragedy and comic relief (in the form of
lines). It is set in 1972 in a bed and breakfast on an island off the
coast of Seattle. There were many social issues including wife abuse,
abortion, coming of age through teenage years, gender inequality in
college admission, and the imbalance of power between the sexes in many
relationships. The playwright, Sarah Treem, did a fantastic job. She
has written and produced the HBO series "In Treatment", HBO series "How
to Make it in America" and (the only one of these 3 that I've seen) the
Netflix series "House of Cards" (which I have to say is a favourite of
mine). The lead actor was Cherry Jones, who provided a wonderful
performance as a nurse who had lost her accreditation on account of
performing abortions and is now on an island off Seattle running a
b&b, but also a safe haven for abused wives. She also gives them
the benefit of her knowledge as to how they can break out of the cycle
of their abusive relationships. Some do, others end up back in it, and
some end up dead. In any event, she's won 2 Tonys and an Emmy - the
quality of her acting was most apparent. Some of the audience really
knew her - some applause when she first appeared on stage. I don't
think I've seen any of her previous work. The teenage "daughter" was
Morgan Saylor. She superbly acted the passion of a Grade 12 teenager,
who was struggling with boys, sex, and applying to Yale. At
intermission I was reading her bio and realized that I've seen her work
in the Showtime series 'Homeland'. She was Brodie's daughter. What
quality in this play and cast! Who would have thought that there was
this sort of gem tucked away in the depths of NYC. I expect there's a
lot of that; you just have to seek it out through the layers of
stuff/busyness/commercialism/crap that appeals to the general masses.
Two zingers from the play: Both were said by Hannah, the feminista
(revolutionary feminist) of the characters:
"Lesbians are the only true feminists."
and later
"We'll never be equal with men if we keep sleeping with them."
Wonderful performance; most worth seeing!
