Claudia is young, parentless, minimally employed, and almost without family or friends but she remains upbeat about her future and confident in her quest to form a personal tribe for herself and her boyfriend Johnny. But Johnny has problems of his own. He has launched into adulthood but still struggles to cut the cord from his concerned mother while searching for a connection to his long-absent father. As the few people Claudia has in her life begin to fall away and the problems in her relationship are laid bare, she teeters on the brink of catastrophe in this searing, darkly funny tragicomedy about the critical importance of community, identity, and home. The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Alexandra Daniels, Jon Joseph Gentry, Hannah Prichard, Christopher Reiling, and Jayne Taini.
Though the concept is a good one, the play’s execution falls flat via a cast of stagnant characters whose unwillingness to change their early-identified problematic qualities drag the plot out without providing much resolve.
Tricia Small, the director, does some remarkable work keeping the pace moving, the actors in character. One wishes the characters moved to a defined conclusion. Accents were missing and the place was not definite in the program or in the dialogue. There was not a strong through line and the characters sometimes floundered.
The Water Tribe may not be everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps no wonder given that even a little of Claudia can go a long long way. Still, for those willing to put up with a whole lot of crazy, The Water Tribe makes for one wild ride.
Though the concept is a good one, the play’s execution falls flat via a cast of stagnant characters whose unwillingness to change their early-identified problematic qualities drag the plot out without providing much resolve.
Tricia Small, the director, does some remarkable work keeping the pace moving, the actors in character. One wishes the characters moved to a defined conclusion. Accents were missing and the place was not definite in the program or in the dialogue. There was not a strong through line and the characters sometimes floundered.
The Water Tribe may not be everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps no wonder given that even a little of Claudia can go a long long way. Still, for those willing to put up with a whole lot of crazy, The Water Tribe makes for one wild ride.