There’s a mystery brewing in and around Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. Everyone seems to be looking for Sharon. Well, there’s a Sharon living in a rundown apartment building inside the theatre. Sharon (Deanna Driscoll) lives there with her son Jake (Rafael Goldstein). At least that’s the talk. When we meet up with Jake, he’s painting one of the walls in the apartment. There’s a clue in there that something’s not right. Jake keeps painting the same wall over and over again, never getting past it.
In case you were wondering, Keiko Green, who penned ”Exotic Deadly: or The MSG Play” seen recently at The Old Globe, has a new world premiere out and it’s about Sharon and she is somewhere in the theatre. Rob Lutfy directs with I’m sure, a gleeful eye and a taste for the over the top. Pardon, it’s quite loud!
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| Deanna Driscoll and Rafael Goldstein |
In an interview, Green said that she was inspired to write about Sharon and Jake after she got fed up watching stories about ‘rich New Yorkers’. During the pandemic, and feeling claustrophobic in what seemed like a dead industry and being in the same room day after day…’I decided to write a play about people who were poor, who were scraping by, and left behind by Seattle’s (Everett, Wash) best…and to top it off were in a transactional relationship.’ All this happens in 2 plus hours. But don’t bother looking at your watch. The scenes move back and forth too quickly and you might miss a hint or two of what’s really going on.
Former San Diegan, Driscoll (excellent as Sharon) came down from the Bay Area, her new digs, just to do this play. “I have a tendency,” she says, “to play mothers who are not mentally healthy. I even asked my own child ‘This isn’t, like, art imitating life, is it?” Could it be that simple? If so, she’s damn good at it. And as for Rafael Goldstein’s Jake, it’s like a match made in heaven. Without revealing too much, both mother and son have familiarity about their relationship, but yet, a hesitancy, a question mark that makes you want answers.
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| Deanna Driscoll and Keiko Green |
Jake works in a supermarket called Jackson’s. Every night he brings groceries home. When we first meet up with him, nothing has changed; he’s carrying a bag full of groceries. One of his co workers is Tina (Keiko Green). She is at the information table. She has a bit of a crush on him, and he on her. In fact, all of Jakes acquaintances seem to be drawn to him.
Various people come and go into and out of the lives of Sharon and Jake. There is a social worker Sabrina, (Kat Peña)who seems to have a huge file on Sharon, but Sharon never shows up for her appointments.
Then Sharon takes Jake to the bank for a loan on the apartment building (that has been in the family for generations) because of a fire. Convincing him of that is a sight to see. Gregg (M.J. Sieber) is the questionable banker who later shows up for diner at Jake and Sharon’s for some homemade chicken parmesan and salad while trying to convince each other why they are all at Sharon’s dinner table.
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| Rafael Goldstein |
Making it all possible, Yi-Chien Lee’s messy looking apartment with large windows off one wall, a kitchen for Sharon to cook and a room off to the side, Bryan Ealey’s rather dark and moody lighting, Steve Lefue’s sound design (“Happy Together”) and Zoë Trautmann’s costumes give the look and feel of exactly what Green intended.
All this sounds lighthearted, but don’t be misled. Along with the dark humor, there are underlying psychological challenges festering in both Sharon and Jake. There is more here or there than meets the eye. It’s worth a look see.
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| Cast of Sharon |
Keiko Green, well on her way as popular playwright and screenwriter is currently working on commissions for The Old Globe, MTC, and Seattle Shakespeare Co., is someone to keep our eyes on. BTW She is also one hell of an actor as witnessed in “Sharon”.
This is one mystery you will want to be a part of.
See you at the theatre.
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