The cast of Second Thought Theatre’s ‘hang.’ (Photo by Evan Michael Woods)
Playwright Debbie Tucker Green does something fascinating with her play hang. Without details, her play dives deep into a tense meeting among three characters. The audience has to ascertain what’s going on as the three — well, two and one — characters figure each other out, but clearly, something big is going down.
In Second Thought Theatre’s latest production directed by Sasha Maya Ada, the cast of actors deftly get through Green’s tricky dialogue, but it’s the writing that seems to want to keep the audience at a distance. At least it did for me.
The three-actor play is set in a sterile conference room where two characters hover around and tend to one woman. The first two shuffle with nervous confidence while the central woman holds her space with an emotional tension. The audience learns that the woman and her family were victims of a never-mentioned crime but clearly it was horrible. Green drops small clues until it’s late in the 90-minute that audiences can understand what’s going on. In short, the woman has to — or gets to — decide on which punishment of death her perpetrator will get as the two bureaucratic officials seem to guide her through the process.
The characters are only defined as One, Two and Three with Shannon J. McGrann and Kristen Lazarchick as One and Two respectively who are garbed up in professional attire and work badges and file folders. Denise Lee plays Three, a woman who has suffered trauma that shows both in her detached and untrusting face as well as her perpetually shaking right hand.
McGrann and Lazarchick were peas in a pod both feeding off each other as if a slight comedic duo in a heavy situation. Their exchanges provided some levity, but as their characters walked on eggshells to assure a comfortable setting for Three, McGrann and Lazarchick ably fumbled through their paperwork and coffee mugs.
In her role as the supervisor, McGrann’s performance exuded a blend of self-assuredness and frustration. Her portrayal captured both the character’s professional competence and the personal struggles that she faced. Through her ability to convey One’s inner emotions, McGrann’s performance was engrossing.
In her portrayal of Two, Lazarchick skillfully layered her character’s competence with a touch of youthful naivety. Her comic timing with McGrann was consistently subtle and surprising. Two was portrayed as impressionable yet far from clueless, and Lazarchick’s soulful eyes conveyed a deep sympathy as she observed Three’s plight.
In hang, Lee played the central character, Three, with compelling quietude and stillness. Overwhelmed by grief, Three felt withdrawn and almost shell-shocked. However, when Lee’s performance unleashed Three’s emotions, the character’s pain became evident. Lee gradually shed Three’s layers, revealing a broken woman faced with a powerful decision. Lee’s performance not only conveyed the inner conflict of Three’s choice but also showcased an inherent strength. Lee’s portrayal of Three displayed the character’s mental processes that somehow made her thoughts and emotions visible.
Ada’s guidance provided the drama with an ideal rhythm. The beats were consistent, and they ebbed and flowed in harmony with hang’s emotional journey. Fortunately, these performances compensated for the frustration caused by Green’s storyline.
The play began with such circuitous dialogue that felt almost repelling rather than offering allowance to form a connection or understanding to the characters. Green’s omission of vital facts early also removed any emotional attachment to the three. The story may have aimed to prioritize human understanding over a situational one, but setting it in a specific context felt counterproductive. I knew I was supposed to care about what’s happening, but often felt more like asking “What’s happening?”
hang seemed to want to say something deeper about race, women and criminal justice but felt hindered by its lacking narrative and often broken dialogue. While these characters were all respectable, they were all in service to each other and thus lacked a specific empowerment. The three actors were committed and each found a distinguished nuance to paint their characters fully which was the one thing to hang onto as a viewer.
The technical side of hang was executed strongly. The mix of lighting by Roma Flowers and the set’s neutral palettes by Scenic Designer Mya C. Cockrell nailed the institutional feel right down to the water cooler and laminate wood floor. Whitney LaTrice’s costumes were no-nonsense choices for each actor but said plenty. Cresent R. Haynes ambient sounds brought a simmering layer to the show’s tension as well.
The craft of this production was spot-on, however Green almost disinvites the audience in her form of narrative. The challenge was real. Ultimately, hang kinda left me hanging until its last act when the picture became more complete.
The show runs through Nov. 2.
–Rich Lopez