In this month’s edition of 15 Bytes our Culture Conversation focused on local, intimate theatre experiences, especially productions of work by local talent. Among the plays mentioned was In, the work of local playwright Bess Wohl which had its world premier this past weekend. Our review is below. Later this week on this site you’ll find reviews of Another Language’s Duel*Ality and Matthew Ivan Bennett’s Mesa Verde.
Julie Jesneck and Jason Ralph. Photo by Alexander Weisman.
Maybe you remember taking the SATs or ACTs, filling in bubbles on a scantron and turning it in by placing it with a pile of hundreds, and feeling as if that small piece of paper carried the weight of your future. Then you waited and wondered if those scores would be good enough, if they would be your trump card in a cutthroat game of admissions to your top choice school. At that age it sometimes feels like everything in life will be determined by a simple acceptance or rejection, so much so that some families go to great lengths to give their children every possible advantage. They hire well regarded tutors who graduated from Harvard, or pay a doctor a little extra to diagnose a small handicap that will allow their child to get special consideration, so their children can have an Ivy League future. It’s all or nothing. This is the story of In, the World Premier of Bess Wohl’s latest work at Pioneer Theatre.
The young man trying to get in to Harvard is Jordy, played by Jason Ralph in his Pioneer Theatre debut. Ralph is convincing as a 17-year-old who has feigned a desire to follow in his father’s footsteps for so many years that it may just become a lifelong condition. He plays sports, takes Advanced Placement classes because that’s what he’s supposed to do, and his favorite subject in school is lunch. Jordy’s first attempt at the SAT resulted in less than ideal scores so his mother has hired Sara, a tutor and Harvard Alumnus played by Julie Jesneck, also new to Pioneer Theatre. Sara is a bright young woman rapidly approaching 30 and she is clearly a little dismayed by her life’s path. She is an Ivy League graduate and an aspiring author, but here she is, a tutor giving pointers on the SAT, the very test that we’re told determines your future. Sara obviously did well and has a keen grasp of English literature and the world around her, yet her future has not played out at all the way she imagined it. Jesneck portrays Sara with the same urgency a person feels on the morning of the SATs. While her performance is effective the audience might find themselves feeling a bit frenzied just by watching her intense portrayal of an academic go-getter who played the game just right but feels at a loss.
Alexandra Neil and Jason Ralph. Photo by Alexander Weisman.
A highlight of the play is Alexandra Neil in the role of Pammie, Jordy’s mother. She is a former hippie who traded flower power for country club socials. With little else to do during the day, Pammie gets her hair done, has her nails impeccably manicured, and collects the artwork of famous artists so she can say it hangs on her walls, even though it brings her very little joy. With drink in hand she expresses concern over her son’s academic future, gets him the best tutor money can buy, and leaves for Aspen. In some ways the character of Pammie serves as a cautionary tale to anyone who believes that good looks and an unlimited supply of cash means you have arrived in the world. For Pammie it means maintaining appearances and getting ahead without giving any consideration to the people you step on. Her son’s success is more about bragging rights than his actual happiness.
The set design is a thoughtful creation by James Wolk. Much of the play takes place in Pammie’s well –appointed upper crust living room in New York. An array of enlarged scantrons hovers around the couch and dining room table, where Sara and Jordy study. The columns of multiple choice answer sheets are displayed well enough that they can fade in to the background and become nothing more intrusive than wallpaper. But they also serve as a reminder of the pervasive theme, the test that is literally and figuratively hanging over everyone’s head.
The test serves as more than just a hoop to be jumped through so Jordy can get in to Harvard. It’s also the catalyst for scenarios that test the character’s moral fiber. These raise larger questions about what success is, how far a person will go to get it, and whether having that success correlates to a meaningful and rewarding life.
Wohl approaches these issues by drawing on some of her own experiences as a tutor in New York who graduated from Harvard and the Yale School of Drama. Her insights feel honest and the writing is not without a sense of humor. She offers a real perspective on the pressures of acceptance, the sacrifices we make in our lives, and ultimately asks us if those sacrifices are worth it. Wohl does not offer a definitive answer. It’s not a multiple choice question, but like the process of preparing for and facing difficult tests (not always those with acronyms for names), the response will shape your life.
Bess Wohl’s In is at Pioneer Theatre Company through March 5. Click here to buy tickets.
Dale Thompson has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College and an Masters degree in communications from Westminster College. Her writing career includes work for a local theatre, journalism in Park City, and freelance contributions for various nonprofit organizations.
Categories: Theater
We just saw this play on Friday night and were a bit disappointed. We did enjoy Touched by the same playwright that showed last year at Pioneer. In my opinion, the play was good until intermission. The ending of the play seemed out of character and a bit rushed, that is to say that the events leading up to the end did not make the last 5 minutes of the play believable.