BWW Reviews: Factory Theatre Laid to Rest with LANGUAGE OF ANGELS

Language of Angels

Written by Naomi Iizuka, Directed by Lizette M. Morris; Assistant Director/Movement Coach, Kiki Samko; Stage Manager/Board Operation, Josephine Anes; Scenic Designer, Lizette M. Morris; Lighting Designer, Greg Jutkiewicz; Sound/Projection Designer, Deirdre Benson; Costume Coordinators, Mikey DiLoreto and Lesley Anne Moreau; Graphic Designer, Derek Yesman; Photographer, Josephine Anes

CAST: Nick Miller, Alexis Scheer, Jackie Theoharis, Mike Budwey, David D'Andrea, Michelle Rubich, Lesley Anne Moreau, Matthew Fagerberg, Kendall Aiguier, Elizabeth Battey, Mikey DiLoreto, Kim Klasner, Eliott Purcell, Allie Seibold (Kiki Samko will replace Jackie Theoharis on 10/31, 11/1)

Performances through November 1 by Happy Medium Theatre at The Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont Street, Boston, MA; Tickets at the door or at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/839927

Happy Medium Theatre starts its sixth season by ending the run of the Factory Theatre, soon to be converted into a gym. Notwithstanding its accessibility issues, or the favorable attributes of any potential future homes for the displaced fringe companies, this final production is a testament to all that is right with the Factory's performance space in terms of ambience and creative possibilities. Playwright Naomi Iizuka's Language of Angels is a haunting tale about a teenage girl gone missing in a cave in a rural North Carolina town and how her loss impacts the lives of nine friends who were with her on her last night. With its exposed brick walls and intimate black box configuration, the Factory substantially heightens the claustrophobic quality of the play.

Director/Scenic Designer Lizette M. Morris, Lighting Designer Greg Jutkiewicz, and Sound/Projection Designer Deirdre Benson build on the existing infrastructure to establish the visual and aural character of the story before the action begins. Their attention to detail includes making the audience enter the theater via a dark, circuitous route through the wings, the pathway lit by flashlights held by silent members of the ensemble. Once inside, a smoky gloom fills the room, the haze drifting in and out of the shafts of light cast by dim bulbs, underscored by a soundtrack of rockabilly tunes. To signal the start of the play, the lights are extinguished and a rumbling drone replaces the music as the actors file in, forming a circle behind the seats. The hum turns to loud whooshes of breathing, while a cacophony of voices utters bits and pieces of words.

Creeped out yet? That all happens before the description of the tragic event begins, first by Seth (Nick Miller), the missing girl's boyfriend, followed by Celie's best friend Kendra (Jackie Theoharis) and JB (Mike Budwey), the sheriff's son. Caught in a stream of pale, yellow light from above, Seth describes the darkness, the total blackness of the cave where the friends had spent the night drinking and getting high, and the fear brought on by disorientation from getting turned around and losing your way. Each of the three tells their version of events, to the best of their recollection, and we are like a Grand Jury, trying to sort it all out and determine where the truth lies. Additional friends rotate in and out of the scenes, adding little of substance to the facts, but expanding the scope of Iizuka's ghost story to include grief, loss, guilt, and karma. At one point, Seth ticks off a list of the fates of several members of the group, suggesting that what goes around comes around. Eventually, Celie (Alexis Scheer) appears as a ghost and reveals the identity of her murderer (but I won't). She reaches across time to sear a memory of herself into his flesh: "Remember me 4-ever and ever."

Language of Angels consists of three parts, each focusing on small groups of the friends, and the action jumps back and forth between the past and present. Although light flashes indicate a shift in time, a little more clarity would be desirable. The middle part features Celie's friends Danielle (Lesley Anne Moreau) and Allison (Michelle Rubich), a man they meet in a bar (David D'Andrea) who reminds them of Danielle's deceased boyfriend Tommy, and Allison's boyfriend Billy (Matthew Fagerberg), a rude and angry drunk. The time warps in this segment require a fair amount of concentration to follow, but the actors build the tension with gripping authenticity. The third part is a conversation between Danielle and JB years later when they are the only ones left of the group. What is fascinating about this scene is how little is said, yet how much is revealed, and Iizuka sustains the mystery and haunting right up to the final moment of the play.

Morris does a masterful job of building and prolonging the suspense, so much so that it is palpable. The effect of having the ensemble members (Kendall Aiguier, Elizabeth Battey, Mikey DiLoreto, Kim Klasner, Eliott Purcell, Allie Seibold) spread around the room as observers, periodically voicing echoes of dialogue, enhances the ghostly atmosphere. The eight actors who play the main characters capture their distinct personalities (Seth's panic, Celie's ethereal presence, Kendra's regret, JB's arrogance) and display natural connection with each other. There is some lovely singing when the girlfriends harmonize ("What'll I Do") and when the entire company (with Miller on guitar) sings about a haunted house as a kind of coda to the play. It is appropriate that Language of Angels speaks to the issues of loss and grieving, even as it serves as a coda to the Factory Theatre.

Photo credit: Mikey DiLoreto (David D'Andrea, Lesley Anne Moreau)

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