The conspicuously absent “or” in the title of Allyson Currin’s Sooner/Later (★★★) hints at the inventive nature of this romantic drama. Soon and later lean into then and now, as the play’s present-day narrative takes unexpected turns back or forward, yielding unexpected consequences.
Gregg Henry’s nimble D.C. production, currently at Mosaic Theatre, lands each of Currin’s clever structural leaps. They’re delicate twists that serve to disguise, and deepen, the fairly uncomplicated story of modern woman Nora hitting the dating scene, mostly at the behest of her daughter, Lexie.
Played with the proper amount of breathless teenage abandon by Cristina M. Ibarra, Lexie is heavily invested in helping her mom move past dating the duds she deems “not father material.” A student of rom-com conventions, she alternates between cheerleader and taskmaster, while Nora, portrayed by Erica Chamblee as a quietly rippling pool of conflicting emotions, patiently juggles work, love, ambition, self-doubt, and a daughter playing dating coach.
Despite the play’s ambitions to address seemingly all that goes into being a woman in the world, Lexie and Nora’s conversations don’t stray far, if at all, from Nora’s love life. Consequently, the play offers a narrow, repetitive view of their world. And, although Ibarra hits perfect notes of the petulant teen, and Chamblee draws the audience in for what turns out to be a poignantly difficult journey for Nora, the two together don’t quite ring the bell of mother-daughter entanglement. Their rapport seems off.
That might be due to the deliberate vagueness baked into the mix for the sake of mystery, and carried through Henry’s production down to scenic designer Debra Booth’s bare set. The minimal scenery, along with Evan Cook’s sound design, project mood more effectively than they convey much about character, time, or place. Again, to some degree, that appears to be the point, but it also leaves the final picture looking foggy, a little indistinct.
The same could be said for the play’s third character, Griff, a sarcastic stranger turned prospective suitor whom Nora meets at the coffee shop where she goes on all her dates. Courtesy of Tony K. Nam’s appealing turn, Griff alights through the play like the breath of fresh air that Nora’s been gasping for date after date, dud after dud. The connection that Nam and Chamblee forge as Griff and Nora dance around the idea of getting together is one element of this production that achieves a crystal-clear sharpness, distinct from the haze of memory and meaning that envelop the rest of the play.
Sooner/Later runs through June 16 at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets are $20 to $60. Call 202-399-7993, ext. 2 or visitwww.mosaictheater.org.
"There's been a long history between the Atlas and GMCW," says Jarrod Bennett. Indeed, the Atlas Performing Arts Center has repeatedly served as a host venue for the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, the H Street institution proving to be an ideal venue for the chorus' intimate cabaret shows. The Atlas also partners with GMCW to co-host the free monthly "Sing Out: A Piano Bar and Open Mic." Says Bennett, "We provide the music, microphones, and pianists."
Bennett has been a singer with the chorus, often featured as a soloist in the group's various cabarets for 15 years. For nearly a decade, he's also served as GMCW's technical director. And in 2022, he took a job at the Atlas.
An elegant dance through space and time, Nick Payne's Constellations explores myriad possibilities in the intersecting lives of lovers Roland (Tony K. Nam) and Marianne (Dina Soltan). From multiple versions of their first meeting, through different permutations of their relationship's end, the action alights abruptly from one juncture in their romance to another.
The award-winning drama's twisted chronology might hover for a moment over one of the pair's first dates, then loop through the fallout of a date gone wrong. In thought-provoking repeats and reversals, Constellations constructs a portrait of the couple, informed by the many potential outcomes of their every encounter.
A robust fall/winter for dance in the DMV gives way to a lighter but still bountiful spring, with an impressive variety of utterly inviting events and performances to choose from -- from Decolonized Beatz Indigenous World Pride at Atlas Performing Arts, and international troupe Compañía Medusa exploring queer themes at Dance Place, to several collaborators melding tap dance with different genres of movement and music to keep us swinging all through the season.
ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
1333 H St., NE
202-399-7993
www.atlasarts.org
Decolonized Beatz Indigenous World Pride -- Celebrating the work of Indigenous storytellers, organizers, and performers, the arts and performance series Decolonized Beatz brings Indigenous World Pride to Arena Stage (1101 6th St. NW) on May 30, and the next day to Atlas with music and dance performances, panel discussions, film screenings, a drag show featuring Lady Shug and Ritni Tears, and a closing dance party with beatz by DJ Rivolta Sata (6/1, Lang Theatre, free admission but registration required)
BALLETNOVA CENTER FOR DANCE
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