by Jess Hoffman
I was unfamiliar with Fairview when I went to see Confetti Stage’s production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer-winning dramedy. Confetti’s website touts “This play explores themes of race, identity, and cultural appropriation through the lens of a black family’s birthday celebration” and the Pulitzer committee that awarded Fairview the coveted award called the play “a hard-hitting drama that examines race in a highly conceptual, layered structure, ultimately bringing audiences into the actors’ community to face deep-seated prejudices.” I could write much about Fairview’s script, how it succeeds and fails at its examination of race, and what messages the play ultimately manages to send its audience. However, I don’t think anyone is reading this review for a Derridean deconstruction of race and theater; and I want to make sure I give due attention to Confetti’s production, so I will try to focus primarily on the stage elements of this particular production. I will however just point out that Fairview is a complicated, poetic, uncomfortable, and sometimes unparsable play that, despite what descriptions may have you believe, never really makes a concrete point. I suspect this is largely by the playwright’s design, and that all attempts to state in one sentence what Fairview is “about” are a gross oversimplification of a very nuanced script.
The Act One cast of Fairview is exceptionally talented. First and foremost, Earth O. Phoenix plays the high-strung protagonist, Beverly, beautifully. She and her on-stage husband, Dayton, played by Hasson Harris Wilcher, both appear as comfortable on the stage as if they were in their own home; which is critical to the play as it takes place in Beverly and Dayton’s home. The homey atmosphere is amplified by a simple but cozy-looking set. The effect of the set and the very comfortable actors is the feeling that the audience is watching real people in a real, middle-class home. Wilcher also provides some excellent comic relief with perfect humorous delivery and timing. Neyonna Watson, as Beverly’s sister Jasmine, is also an excellent source of comic relief. (It is worth noting that Watson jumped into the role just days before opening and is on-book. Having one actor on-book does slow the pacing occasionally; but considering the circumstances, Watson does a commendable job taking on a major role.)
While Act One successfully portrays a Black family in their own home, Act Two portrays a group of White people watching Act One and having an honest, albeit uncomfortable and uninformed, discussion about race. I suspect Act Two is meant to portray theater audience members watching Act One, but the way this production is staged makes them appear like a group of homeless people loitering outside Beverly and Dayton’s home.
The whole of Act Two (and Act Three for that matter) is meant to be uncomfortable, and the tone certainly contrasts the homey and comfortable atmosphere of Act One. But the conversation about what race each of the audience members would choose to be if they could choose to be another race is so banal that it struck me as more boring than uncomfortable. (Perhaps there are people out there who will be suitably shocked by a group of naïve White people unabashedly speculating on the experiences of other racial groups, but for some of us that’s just a family dinner.) When the conversation starts to get uncomfortable enough to make the more jaded audience members pay attention, its poignancy is hindered by some noticeable discomfort on the part of the actors. Among the White actors, Monica Vilela seems the most comfortable discussing race, when her character, Suze, is supposed to be the one made most uncomfortable by Act Two’s conversation.
Finally, Act Three brings the play to an interesting conclusion despite some distasteful heavy-handedness. I said I would avoid deconstructing the script too much, but I must note that a major pet-peeve of mine is when a play feels the need to outrightly state its purpose in a way that does not fit surreptitiously into the rest of the script. Keisha’s monologue at the end of Act Three doesn’t outrightly state the “point” of the play, nor is it completely out of tone with the rest of the play, but it does seem like a place where the play is unnecessarily insisting upon itself. Eliana Rowe’s immense stage presence and charisma save these final moments from being a let-down, but it still feels like the play could have ended on a stronger note if Jackie Sibbles Drury had been more willing to let her play speak for itself.
With that said, the cast and crew of Fairview at Confetti stage has done an admirable job putting together a challenging play. Act One is far and away the highlight of this show, but the entire play is an entertaining and thought-provoking meditation on race and theater. If you can forgive a bit of heavy-handedness in its messaging, I suspect you will enjoy Confetti Stage’s production of Fairview.
Confetti Stage presents Fairview by Jackie Sibbles Drury, directed by Aaron Moore, runs from May 2-11, at the Albany Masonic Hall, 67 Corning Pl, Albany, NY 12207. Produced by John A. Nickels and Joe Plock. Cast: Earth O. Phoenix as Beverly, Hasson Harris Wilcher as Dayton, Neyonna Watson as Jasmine, Eliana Rowe as Keisha, Roger Kennedy as Jimbo, Monica Vilela as Suze, Peter V. Miranda as Mack, and Beverly Swimm as Bets. Costume design by Jennifer Bart. Lighting design by Laura Darling. Sound design by Stephen Henel. Properties design by Sean T. Baldwin and Jennifer Bart. Stage Manager: Joe Plock. Board Operator: Vaasu Tanjeja.
Performance dates are Friday-Sunday (May 2-4) and Thursday-Sunday (May 8-11). Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7:30 pm and Sunday performances are 2pm matinees only. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for students, and $8 per person for groups of 8 or more. Runs approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission. Contains discussions of racism. Tickets are available at the door or online at https://confettistage.org/buy-tickets/.