Jennifer Engler as Fiona in Echo Theatre’s ‘in a word.’ (Courtesy Echo)
That playwright Lauren Yee wrote in a word at the age of 22 is both remarkable and frightening. Her insight into the grief of a 40-something (maybe late 30s) mother who lost her child in a kidnapping is impressive. Echo Theatre’s production of Yee’s show was equally so.
Jennifer Engler is Fiona, a mother, wife and school teacher, who has been in a state to say the least for two years since her seven year-old child Tristan (Thomas Magee) went missing. Her grief and determination to find justice outweighs that of her husband Guy (Jared Culpepper) who initially just wants to take her to dinner at a fancy restaurant where they are late for a reservation made two months ago.
Before the incident, Tristan is a child on the spectrum who can be handful when it comes to class pictures, endless questions and fidgety responses to being touched. After discussions with her principal Ted (Magee), she questionably succeeds at moving Tristan into her class. With so much time spent with her son, she made one decision on a car ride to step out away from her son, to get a candy bar and have a moment to herself only to find him gone when she returned.
The story played out primarily in Guy and Fiona’s living room with Magee also serving as the detective on the case for two years who has come up with nothing.
With slightly disheveled hair and comfy, uninspired clothes, Engler wore Fiona’s grief not only in her appearance but in her face. She’s defeated but hopeful, she’s sad and she’s isolated. The role called for her to not only play in the moment but then shift to memories of her conversations with Ted or family moments that were either difficult or lovely. She’s heartbreaking without the audience necessarily feeling sorry for her because the character doesn’t display much emotion. Engler straddled an emotional line of breakdown and sturdiness that gave her a tension throughout. Would she collapse? Would she remain strong? You know, the way moms do. Engler’s performance was a revelation despite its understatement.
Yee never seemed to delve into Guy’s grief and thus, Culpepper’s performance gave him a range of being the supportive, humorous loving husband to the frustrated lover who considers a one-night stand suggested by his friend Andy (also Magee). Guy was sort of a mystery because there’s never much revealed about him and his side of the story. Culpepper played Guy as a very capable man but the character never seemed to have layers of nuance.
While Magee had multiple roles, the majority of his time onstage was as Tristan. Even his full facial beard didn’t take away from the fact that he’s a spirited seven year-old. He mixed humor and physicality well into the nuances of Tristan without ever caricaturing a child on the spectrum. Tristan never felt like a sympathetic character, but there were sweet moments when all three were together and the chemistry among them felt distinctly familial.
The story shifted from past and present which may be confusing for some but the production kept it flowing under the direction of Eric Berg. The script was built on repetition and these every cliches, all which become something else to the characters hence the title. Words matter, but do they come off as intended is partly what Yee seems to say here. With a simple living room set up, the set still had wondrous moments. As the show progressed, the set grew more bare and the pullaways and simple prop action were nonetheless surprising moments.
in a word was certainly an emotional punch to the gut but that’s what made this production a strong one.
