Conversation and Combat

The Niceties – Writers Theatre

As the lights rise on an office at an upscale, Ivy League university, we discover junior college student Zoe Reed, a smart, articulate African-American student, in the middle of a conversation with her history instructor, Professor Janine Bosko. The appointment appears to be going affably enough, as Ms. Bosko takes a fine comb to her student’s research paper. She humorously points out that Zoe has left a comma out of a sentence, but then continues to pick apart and denigrate most of her student’s work. The kindly conversation gradually turns combative, as an abundance  of less than politically correct phrases innocently tumble from Janine’s mouth. Soon a war of words and ideas breaks out between student and teacher, further fueled by the fact that Ms. Bosko is an entitled, Caucasian Baby Boomer and Ms. Reed is a proud, African-American Millennial. 

Eleanor Burgess’ riveting, intelligent two-hander, which enjoyed a recent Off Broadway run at the Manhattan Theatre Club, is a play for thinking audiences. While entertaining, it’s not a lighthearted leisure activity that allows one to sit back and relax. As Writer’s pre-show announcement suggests, theatergoers are encouraged to lean forward and engage. The play is  confrontational and thoroughly involving. Audiences will find themselves mesmerized, not only by the content and the characters, but the two talented actors who breathe life into this script. Theatergoers will find themselves alternately identifying with each woman, continually taking, and then switching, sides.

Zoe is hoping that the paper she’s written and the ideas she has presented, will impress her instructor. The young woman needs a good grade for this paper, at least a B+, in order to maintain her scholarship. But more importantly, Zoe feels passionately about her ideas. In her thesis, that a successful American revolution was only possible because of slavery, Ms. Reed is expressing an anger about the American educational system that’s been building for generations. Zoe’s instructor calls her statement one of the more imaginative ideas she’s seen in a research paper. But the young student finds Janine’s reaction to her work patronizing and racist.

Unfortunately, and this seems to be the playwright’s intent, Professor Bosko is blind to the fact that her privileged, white viewpoint is, at best, narrow-minded, and at its worst, prejudiced and bigoted. The battle lines are drawn and the conflict erupts into the second act, where there is no victor.
Director Marti Lyons returns to Writers Theatre after her sharp and insightful stagings of the “Witch” and “The Mystery of Love & Sex.” She begins her production in a conversational tone, allowing the pacing to increase naturally, to ebb and flow as tempers flair and are assuaged. Wisely, Ms. Lyons doesn’t simply keep Janine at her desk, but has her getting up and nervously roaming her office. Staged in-the-round, Courtney O’Neill’s book-lined scenic design, confined by an elevated, rectangular floating library, seems to suggest a kind of academic boxing arena. Once the two characters enter the ring, only the vanquishing victor will remain in Ms. Lyons’ exciting drama.

Already leaving her mark in such stirring productions as “Holding History,” at Stage Left, “Suddenly Last Summer,” at Raven and in the Goodman’s “How to Catch Creation,” Ayanna Bria Bakari infuses Zoe with an artistically fierce determination to never be taken for granted. She’s a force of nature who demands to be seen and heard. Ms. Bakari makes this proud, young African-American scholar into a warrior for equality and human dignity. Theatergoers who’ve witnessed the emergence of the “Me Too,” generation will find even more relevance to the way Zoe responds to her instructor’s sometimes callous remarks. Set during early 2016, even more resonance rests in the student’s knowledge that America elected, and is about to bid farewell, to its first black President, a man almost unanimously lauded as one of this country’s best leaders. There’s hope that the election of the first female president is eminent.

Mary Beth Fisher is undeniably one of Chicago’s three finest, most gifted actresses, of a certain age. She’s impressed audiences in such excellent Goodman productions as “Blind Date,” “The Little Foxes” and (a personal favorite) “Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike.” A two-time Jeff-winner, Ms. Fisher has also delivered some perfectly astounding performances on almost every Chicagoland stage, as well as nationally, at such noteworthy venues as Berkeley Rep/Huntington Theatre and The Old Globe. Returning to Writers Theatre after appearing in “My Own Stranger,” Mary Beth Fisher is immaculate. As in every role she undertakes, Ms. Fisher creates an absolutely authentic, truly believable and totally honest portrayal of a mature, educated woman, who’s also a respected university professor. Janine maintains that she’s “good” and “fair” to her students, but Zoe reveals to the renowned teacher something astounding about who she is deep inside. Brilliant, well-read and proud of always keeping up-to-date with historical research and the changing times, Ms. Bosker discovers a jaw-dropping revelation about herself, as well as some new information about the younger, electronic generation.

There are so many levels in which to appreciate this thought-provoking, new play. The playwright’s balanced a face-to-face skirmish between Baby Boomers and Millennials with a highly-charged drama dealing with race, gender, human dignity, equality and the rights of others. This is an enthralling, sometimes humorous, production that audiences who like their entertainment spiced with controversy and seasoned with today’s headlines will absolutely enjoy. A well-deserved standing ovation to Marti Lyons, her brilliant cast and creative team and, especially, playwright Eleanor Burgess for collaborating on this Chicago must-see production.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas   

Presented November 6-December 8 by Writers Theatre at the Nichols Theatre venue, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, IL.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 847-242-6000 or by going to www.writerstheatre.org.

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