I wonder: Is the “women’s revenge” story an emerging new theatre trend, or am I just now noticing?
Last year gave us The Magic’s world premiere of The Kind Ones by Miranda Rose Hall, then Shotgun staged Anna Ouyang Moench’s Man of God. Both plays wore their ’70s exploitation influences (or, at least, those of Tarantino “homages” to them) on their sleeves, but were wise enough to add depth to the characters that those flicks often lacked. The plays had their leading ladies (and one trans actor-character) exist for something more than audience titillation.
Like those productions, Aleshea Harris and Oakland Theater Project’s Is God Is (Bay Area premiere through April 23 at FLAX art & design, Oakland) owes a great deal to grindhouse revenge thrillers and Italian-made Westerns. So much so that on-screen titles are projected on the upstage curtains, set to Morricone-style music.
This particular roaring rampage of revenge focuses on “twin” sisters Racine (Jamella Cross) and Anaia (Rolanda D. Bell), both bearing prominent scars as the result of a childhood fire. Said fire was started by their father in an attempt to murder their mother (Tanika Baptiste). As adults, the twins are surprised to find their mother alive, if not well. In fact, the fire-scarred matriarch isn’t long for this world. As such, she makes one humble final request of her progenies: find their father; kill him; and “bring something back” as proof.
Understandably, they tell her the request is crazy. “Not as crazy,” she replies, “as settin’ a woman on fire in front of her own kids.” They can’t argue with that spotless logic, so the sisters set off on a desert-backed murder-spree, killing all their father’s known associates in preparation for the inevitable showdown with the man himself.
I really wish Harris had just kept the story a revenge drama. Apparently, it’s supposed to be a comedy, but I wasn’t laughing during the violent hour-and-a-half runtime. The script—which has the cast alternating from traditional dialogue (spoken in an anachronistic Black Southern vernacular; think The Color Purple or The Learning Tree) to descriptive, novel-like prose—isn’t bad. But it leans so heavily into the drama that the comedy seems awkward rather than a relief to the tension. The ladies have mental scars to match their physical ones, so one would have to be pretty heartless to laugh at them.
Oh sure, one can have mixed feelings about the folks on their hitlist: the lawyer (Devin Cunningham) who helped their dad beat the charges, the dad’s new wife (Baptiste again), and new “twin” sons (Anthony Rollins-Mullens and Cunningham). But even they prove to be worthy of empathy. Especially second wife Angie, who herself has reached a breaking point with the husband whose danger she can almost “sense.”
The point is, Is God Is works best when it focuses on the ease of being radicalized and falling into the abyss of doing something you thought you never would. The title comes from how the sisters’ mother is never addressed by name, only as “God.” Despite having missed out on most of their lives and only re-entering to show how damaged she is, their mother holds an unshakable sway over the two. How are you supposed to deny a request from God, even one made on a deathbed?
Directed by OTP co-founder William Hodgson, this East Bay production is appropriately dreamlike in its presentation. Karla Hargrave’s set leans on minimalist pieces (a desk, a hospital bed, et al.) that combine with Alexa Burrell’s projections to evoke sun-baked, poorly-air-conditioned desert settings. Also of note is the make-up by Marina Polakoff, making the most of OTP’s limited resources to show the fire scars of the leads. Its budgetary quality is noticeable but never distracting, which good make-up should never be.
During the final preview performance, the mask mandate was in effect, though they were frequently pulled down in both the lobby and theatre for drinking. The theatre proper still boasts an air purifier roughly the size of a mini-fridge. Over the course of the hour-and-a-half-long show, the CO² levels of my Aranet4 peaked around 1403ppm.
From an historical perspective, God is the perfect excuse for the evils of humanity: Saying you have a message from Them is something than can’t be verified, so even if a message were possible, it can’t be interpreted the same way. One would argue that the concept of a higher power has outlived its usefulness and humans should make their own decisions based on empirical information and personal experience—not unlike a child living their life beyond the scope of what their parents told them. Existing solely based on someone else’s instructions often leads to questionable decisions.
OTP has a fine time exploring those decisions with a capable cast and crew. They’re good questions; it would just be better if they weren’t occasionally treated as the set-ups for punchlines.
IS GOD IS Bay Area premiere runs through April 23. FLAX art & design, Oakland. Tickets and more info here.
