Review: NAN AND THE LOWER BODY at Lucie Stern Theatre

A crowd favorite at the 2019 New Works Festival, Jessica Dickey's very personal homage to her grandmother, an early pioneer in female reproductive rights, couldn't have its World Premiere at a more opportune time with SCOTUS tampering with Roe v Wade. With great humor and touching pathos, the story of Nan Day and her work with groundbreaking Pap Smear developer Dr. George Papanicolaou (aka Dr. Pap) springs to life with vivid detail and fine acting.

The males presented here provide much of the comic relief balancing out the dramatic catharsis occurring with the women. Christopher Daftsios as Dr. Pap is a delight to watch. Enjoying making people squirm by repeating the word vagina as often as possible, he's deeply committed to moving women's reproductive rights forward and delighted that Nan Day (Elissa Beth Stebbins) is the only woman who applies to be his assistant. Ted Day (Jeffrey Brian Adams), Nan's husband, is a preacher and definitely a squirmer.

Nan is an eager learner and committed to doing something important. But pain in her leg and clumsy falls indicate something is very wrong. In a touching side story, Dr. Pap's wife Mache (Lisa Ramirez) is going through menopause and feeling left out of her husband's work, her having been his first subject.

Nan thinks her symptoms indicate cancer and must herself become a subject to be examined under the scope of Dr. Pap. Its every woman's greatest fear and back in the early 50's, options were severely limited. To complicate the story, Ted gets a parish and the couple must move. Nan must make a difficult career choice, following her husband or continuing her work. How this and her medical diagnosis are resolved is beautifully told. The real Nan Day studied vaginal cancer never actually have worked with Dr. Pap. Dickey calls the play a 'fantasia,' imagining if their paths had crossed.

Director Giovanna Sardelli lets the actors and the dialogue flows naturally lending an authenticity to the fabricated encounters. Nina Ball's scenic design is a standout, switching between Dr, Pap's lab and the Papanicolaou's home. The acting is superb throughout and Dickey's tribute to her grandmother is heartfelt and historically engaging.

Nan and the Lower Body runs through August 7th, 2022. Tickets available at TheatreWorks.org or call (877)-662-8978.

Photo credit: Alessandro Mello

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