Review: AJ Clauss's SALTY is Playing at Desert Ensemble Theatre

Desert Ensemble Theatre (DETC) is currently presenting the Coachella Valley premiere of AJ Clauss's SALTY, a comedic drama. The production is well worth seeing; the play forces people to think about major issues and the director and ensemble cast are fabulous. Although there are many funny and many sweet moments, be forewarned: The overall tone is so sad and so pessimistic that this is definitely not a light evening out. For those willing to deal with the emotional effects, director Jerome Elliott has created a must-see production.

The Venue

DETC used to perform at an auditorium with no slant and rudimentary lighting and sound equipment. Beginning this season, they have moved into one of the Camelot theaters, which are now part of the Palm Springs Cultural Center. DETC recently received a $25,000 grant from the Coachella Valley Spotlight, which they have used to upgrade the sound and lighting. Shawn Abramowitz, DETC's executive director, informed me that the work is 75 percent done. Thanks to Covid, this is the first production this season that I have been able to attend. I was overwhelmed by how much the venue is an improvement over the old one, and how the work has improved the Camelot auditorium.

The Play

SALTY is highly innovative; each of the six human characters has a roughly parallel penguin character, played by the same actor. In addition, there is a raconteur fox who addresses the audience directly. The fox's purpose, in addition to telling her own story, appears to be to emphasize that people and animals are not very different from each other.

Multiple plot lines and themes run through both the human and the bird stories, which is my main objection to the script - it's too busy. Also, the last scene (a monologue), in my view, detracts from the powerful ending of the previous scene, which would have served as a fitting ending for the play.

Following the story lines and piecing everything together is exhausting and, in my opinion, the overlapping themes sometimes detract from each other. Is the main story the difficulty the humans have in keeping the zoo going despite increasing animal extinctions? The penguin who can't get over losing her baby? The gay male penguins who would like to hatch an egg? Environmental concerns are one theme - the zoo is supposed to be the last conservation zoo left on the planet, the polar ice caps have melted, all the penguins are gone except the few in the zoo, and the penguins can no longer successfully lay eggs. Yet, LGBT+ issues are also front and center: Most of the characters - both human and penguin - are in a same sex relationship, are attracted to a member of the same sex, or are uncomfortable with the idea of same sex relationships. A third major theme is the juxtaposition of cruelty and empathy; the zookeepers are doing their best to save the entire penguin species, but do not understand how unhappy they are making the individual penguins. A different kind of juxtaposition of cruelty and empathy also takes place, where the other individuals rally around someone after a shocking occurrence.

Yet, despite the misgivings described above, AJ Clauss (whose pronouns are they and them), has written a moving play that will force audiences to ponder deep matters. The playwright takes us on a rollercoaster among hilarity, sweetness, and pathos. They have written the fox to be a sarcastic commentator on life - my favorite laugh-line is hers: "Dragonflies fake their own death to avoid sex. Me, too." The fox also describes tragic moments in her life, but she is definitely not the only one whose lines get laughs or expressions of empathy. Instead, the play tugs at our heartstrings from the first moment, when the audience members, who have their own part as members of a tour group, see Snickers, a bereaved mother. A few of the play's tragic stories have followed me home, including the one about Snickers, as well as the fox's story about her coming of age with her litter-mate brothers. There is no question in my mind that SALTY will touch everyone who sees it. This makes it a worthy play, despite my complaints. (Review continues after ad).

The Production

I see SALTY as a project that a professional repertory theatre might attempt, but a community theatre such as DETC requires extraordinary depth to pull it off. Fortunately, the ensemble cast consists of performers who are among the Coachella Valley's best. Additionally, Jerome Elliott, DETC's artistic director, has done an extraordinary job as SALTY's director (assisted by August Pearson) in getting the most from every one of his actors. There is not a weak link in the cast.

Each of the actors plays a penguin and a human, except for Melanie Blue, who appears as only a fox. The cast members wear black blazers when they are playing penguins. Yet, even without the blazers, and even without having the penguins confined to stage left in their enclosure, it would be obvious who the penguins are. This is because they engage in adorable behaviors that we have all seen penguins do, such as turning their heads back and forth, flapping their "wings," nuzzling, and waddling. Yet, they also assume human demeanors in particularly dramatic moments. For example, as I mentioned above, Snickers (Phylicia Mason, who also plays zookeeper Steph) looks sad during the first scene when she is turning her head back and forth and ignoring the visiting humans. Snickers's mate, Edward (Miguel Arballo, who also plays Mason, another zoo employee, and who is Phylicia Mason's real-life partner), is a heterosexual penguin who makes a hilarious face of revulsion when a male penguin talks about his attraction to another male. The gay male penguins, Bowie and Silver (John Corr, who also plays single father Zach; and Anthony Nannini, who also plays a tour guide) seem very human when they find an egg and decide to try to hatch it, while wondering if they will be good parents.

In my opinion, the actors whose penguin and human scenes show the most dramatic contrast are Heather Bates and Tessa Gregory Walker. They get to show off their comic chops in a scene where their feathers moult. However, when they play Desiree and Winnie, two human partners who are breaking up, their performance is searing.

Last, but certainly not least, Melanie Blue, the fox, would steal the show if she weren't performing with six other actors who threaten to do the same. She is hilarious, pathetic, and vicious, all in the course of one evening.

Andrew MacLaine's costume design is simple and clever. In addition to the black blazers for the penguins, he has clothed the fox in a dark yellow jacket, with a fake fur collar around her neck. Set designer Thomas L. Valach has made the most of the small stage, with a realistic looking zoo locker room for the humans and a bleak enclosure for the penguins. A poster picturing a group of penguins, captioned "leadership", adds a touch of whimsy.

The rest of the fine technical crew consists of Jason Smith (lighting design), Gus Sanchez (sound design), Sierra Barrick (stage manager), and Kevin O'Shaugnessy (lighting technician). Jerome Elliott and Shawn Abramowitz produced the show.

SALTY will run for one more weekend, from Friday, February 25th through Sunday, February 27th , on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Performances take place at the Palm Springs Cultural Center (the Camelot Theaters), 2300 East Baristo Road, Palm Springs, CA. 92262 (across Baristo Road from Palm Springs High School. Contact the theatre by email at DETCTheatre@gmail.com, call 760-565-2476 for tickets or more information, or consult the web site, www.desertensembletheatre.org. The snail mail address is PO Box 2885, Palm Springs, CA 92262.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All attendees must show proof of Covid vaccination.

The rest of DETC's 2021-2022 season consists of:

ALL THIS INTIMACY, by Rajiv Joseph (March 25-27 and April 1-3).

In this sex comedy, Ty Greene has managed to impregnate three women in the span of one week. As the women converge and figure out what's happened, Ty realizes his life is adrift and that he only has a limited time to try to piece it back together.

PHOTO CREDIT: Becky Johnson

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