Missionaries Gathering Souls

The Harvest – Griffin Theatre

 

When the lights rise on a mildewed, small-town Idaho church basement, created with detail by scenic designer Sotirios Livaditis, the audience discovers five young people scattered around the room in the throes of prayer. As their voices rise in volume and fervor, we hear snatches of a few familiar words, but the majority of the invocations are in an unfamiliar language. Delivered with uncontrolled passion and orgasmic devotion, these appeals to God cause the Millennials to speak in a cacophony of tongues. Such is their emotional communion. But watch each character carefully: as their prayer meeting winds down, the astute theatergoer will notice a subtle, almost imperceptible reaction in each young person’s face and body language. Therein lies a foreshadowing of the events that follow.

Samuel D. Hunter’s one-act, currently enjoying its Chicago premiere, after first being staged two years ago in New York, is much in the same vein as his earlier plays. Known for such affecting, award-winning dramas as “The Whale,” “A Bright New Boise,” “Pocatello” and “The Healing,” Hunter’s new theatrical offering likewise focuses on its characters, far more than its plot. The story is about a group of five 20-something evangelical missionaries who will soon be leaving for a four-month stay, somewhere in the Middle East. There these kids idealistically plan to bear witness, spread the Gospel and convert Muslims to Christianity. In the meantime they meet together in the church basement to improve their Arabic, rehearse the delivery of their good news evangelist scripts and to calm nerves about living in a strange, new land with possible lurking violence. 

The group is guided by Ada, a chirpy, slightly older youth leader, who’s already spent time in this unnamed Middle Eastern country. Played with bright-eyed buoyancy by perky Kiayla Ryann, this young woman, with the painted-on smile, is bound and determined to prepare her flock of four new missionaries and keep them on track. Ada attempts to lighten the mood and allay their concerns with spirited anecdotes about her own undertaking abroad, but soon finds that she’s got a big job ahead of her.

Married couple Marcus, played with dim-witted verve and vivacity by Taylor Del Vecchio, and Denise, an insecure young mother-to-be, portrayed with understated intensity by Kathryn Acosta, try to balance their own tentative relationship while preparing for the experience of their lives. Denise has trouble finding her own voice during group prayer, although Marcus patronizingly offers his suggestions. She struggles against her husband’s smothering, overprotective love and while trying to assert her independence. As the time draws near for their departure to the Middle East, Marcus appears to be the most enthusiastic for the promised adventure that lies ahead. Ada has kindly arranged for the couple to spend their four months abroad in the comfort of an air-conditioned office, rather than traipsing around in the hot sun trying to convert Muslims. Neither Marcus nor Denise finds this to their liking but it’s already been arranged.

The other two new missionaries are longtime best friends, Josh and Tom. Each young man has his own reasons for giving up a comfortable life in rural Idaho in favor of spending four months spreading the Gospel in a hot, desert city filled with unrest and potential violence. Josh’s mother left the family long ago. His dad was a terminally ill alcoholic who had no time for him. When he died, Josh was left with the arduous task of burying his father and trying to care for a house that’s in desperate need of repairs. Making matters worse, his older sister, Michaela, played to perfection by Paloma Nozicka, became addicted to meth and other drugs at a young age. She eventually abandoned her home and family, traveling west with a low-life boyfriend, who eventually left her high and dry. Michaela only recently returned home to Idaho, after learning about her dad’s funeral. Mickey’s horrified to learn that her brother’s planning, not only to leave his home and become a missionary, but to spend the rest of his life in the Middle East. But she’s not the only person who will miss Josh.

Tom, who’s life with his dad hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses, is devoting himself to this religious calling for other motives. Tom wants to leave his sheltered, oppressive life in small-town Idaho. He particularly yearns to escape the suffered, overprotection of his father’s watchful eye. Apparent to the audience, Tom and Josh are more than simply best friends; they’re also bound together by an unspoken romantic tie. Both boys also share similar backgrounds, which probably brought them together in the first place. When Josh and Tom talk about getting in the car and leaving Idaho and their commitment to becoming missionaries behind, the hearts of every audience member soars with hope. And when the boys embrace, desperately clinging to each other as the only person who truly loves and cares, our collective hearts break for them.

Josh is played with quiet strength by handsome, hardworking Raphael Diaz. This talented actor is a lesson in how less is usually more. He understands that not every single emotion that a character is experiencing has to be seen in order to be felt by the audience. Playwright Samuel D. Hunter has offered so many choices in the way Josh can be played; but Mr. Diaz has wisely chosen to underplay what’s going on inside this conflicted, heartbreaking character. The same can be said for Collin Quinn Rice. Last seen in the House Theatre’s “Hatfield and McCoy,” they bring a realistic and unabashed honesty to the role of Tom. Rice also realizes that the audience will get it and that not everything needs to be spoken or displayed to be understood. Much of Rice’s character is broiling under the surface until it can’t be contained any longer. When the boys finally embrace each other for their lives, the floodgates open. The beauty of this production is truly in its sincerity and naturalism.

All of this is because Samuel D. Hunter’s play is superbly guided and staged by Jonathan Berry, one of Chicago’s finest and most respected sensitive young teacher/directors. His work, not only with Griffin Theatre Company, but at Steppenwolf, Steep and many other venues, has made Mr. Berry the go-to director for plays that explore the emotional lives of young people. In this, his second collaboration with Mr. Hunter’s writing, Jonathan Berry doesn’t disappoint.

This play, which melds together several wildly different views about religion, is a powerful production that stands alone. It opens and closes with two unforgettable scenes, while interspersed within its 105 minutes by lots of exposition and character development. An eleventh hour monologue, nicely delivered by Patrick Blashill as Pastor Chuck, is a little much at that moment, but it provides both Josh and the audience with some necessary information that motivates the play’s final moments. Under Jonathan Berry’s expert, ever-so-slightly theatrical direction, with his guidance of this magnificent ensemble of actors, there beats a heart of realism that bursts with love.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas        

         

Presented July 21-August 25 by Griffin Theatre Company at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available at the Den box office, by calling them at 773-697-3830 or by going to www.griffintheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.