I suppose the cocktail conversation among certain factions of the Off-Broadway community this summer will be centered around whether the ending of Lila Rose Kaplan's Wildflower a) thoroughly ruined the play, b) logically brought all the play's diverse pieces together or c) was just another example of the evening's well-intentioned flaws. I lean toward the latter.
Now getting its premier production at Second Stage's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale, I found
Wildflower to be one of those plays that works best if you try not to think about it too much. The best aspect is the playwright's snappy, quirk-filled and sometimes poetic dialogue that keeps the ear attentive, but the hour-and-fifteen minute piece suffers from a case of, as they say in Oz, people coming and going so quickly around here. Perhaps the speed
With which the story is told has something to do
With the play's locale; Crested Butte, Colorado, "The Wildflower Capital of the World." Here, the circle of tourism sprouts from the heavy winds that spread the seeds that cover the town in wildflowers, but also cause the wild fires that burn the flowers and cause destruction.
Erica (
Nadia Bowers), recently separated from her husband for reasons that are never fully explained, has dragged along her 16-year-old son Randolph (
Jake O'Connor) for a summer vacation at an inn run by Mitchell (
Ron Cephas Jones), a gay former New York drag entertainer who says he used to live in the crown of the Statue of Liberty. The sullen Randolph is apparently a genius; though we never see any evidence of that beyond his mom's say-so. Before even settling in their room, Erica is off to answer a newspaper ad for a job answering phones at a tourist hotline. When she arrives at the gig, the lone employee around is 16-year-old Astor (Renée Felice Smith), who quickly trains her and then, upon learning that Erica has a genius son her age, dashes out to find him at the inn. It seems that Astor is also pretty bright and, after skipping two grades, is looking for someone to lose her virginity
With before going off to college. Moments after she leaves, Erica gets a visit from the ridiculously pompous forest ranger, James (
Quincy Dunn-Baker); a caricature of strutting machismo. She accepts a date
With him.
What happens between then and the discussion-worthy ending lacks depth and motivation. The tone of the play, especially when it comes to the character of James, shifts wildly from realistic sincerity to oddball humor. Director Giovanna Sardelli and a very good cast give it a game try, and if the play frequently lacks logic, there's a fine amount of humor and admirable scene work. The attractive set pieces provided by Steven C. Kemp, before a backdrop of flowery hills, help the production move at a brisk, summer breeze pace. If the plot would just slow down a bit so that we can linger a while and smell the flowers, Wildflower might get a chance to bloom.
Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Jake O'Connor and Renee Felice Smith; Bottom: Nadia Bowers and Quincy Dunn-Baker
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