by Michele Markarian
“Witch” – Written by Jen Silverman. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, through November 14h.
Jen Silverman is my new favorite playwright. Their voice is unique, yet the way their plays are layered with deeper meaning and intent underneath some very smart, very funny dialogue is reminiscent of Edward Albee. Witch, aided by a strong cast, lively direction and excellent production values is no exception.
“I’m not arguing for the end of the world – but then again, maybe I am”, Elizabeth Sawyer (Lyndsay Allyn Cox) tells us in her opening monologue. Elizabeth is a lonely, friendless woman, who has, for reasons unbeknownst to her, been labeled a “witch” by the local villagers. In the same village, a devil named Scratch (Michael Underhill) is granting townspeople wishes in exchange for their souls. Two surrender easily – Cuddy (Nick Sulfaro), the effeminate son of local bigwig Sir Arthur Banks (Barzin Akhavan) and Frank Thorney (Javier David Padilla), an ambitious farmer’s son whose easy masculinity has compelled Sir Arthur to take him under his wing. Frank Thorney possesses a secret childhood girlfriend, Winifred (Gina Fonseca), who has sacrificed her dignity to work as a maid in Sir Arthur’s home to be near her beloved. She is in love with Frank, Cuddy is in love with Frank, and Frank is in love with himself.
The only person not willing to sacrifice their soul to Scratch is Elizabeth, who instead makes her first real friend in the devil by demanding that he makes his sales pitch to her as he would a man. This leads to deeper dialogue between them. Elizabeth confides details of her previous life as Sir Arthur’s lover to Scratch (“How easily we jump from tarnished to untouchable”) and Scratch confesses that as a non-entity who cloaks himself in different bodies, his least favorite disguise was as a woman (“I didn’t like the way people looked at me”). The politics of gender and sexuality are woven throughout as each character questions, and struggles with, their desires. The biggest struggle is between hope (maintaining the status quo will somehow produce change) and despair (blowing up the status quo will achieve a new beginning). Or maybe it’s the other way around, depending on your viewpoint. Will burning things to the ground make things better, or worse? Can one create change from an existing framework? You may agree or disagree with the conclusion that Elizabeth and Scratch reach, but a show that makes you think, in my book, is a show worth seeing.
Especially if it’s funny and well acted. Sulfaro practically steals the show as Cuddy, Sir Arthur’s gay son who wants to be taken seriously as a Morris dancer. Sulfaro has a gift for physical comedy; one can’t help but laugh as he launches into a frenzied and fluttery dance after committing a heinous crime. Cox provides a thoughtful, calm, and steady ballast to everyone else’s crazy as Elizabeth, the moral center of the piece. Akhaven plays Sir Arthur with both tenderness and machismo, while Padilla gets under the skin as the narcissistic Frank. Fonseca is affecting as her Winifred’s distress increases in volume. Underhill plays Scratch with a graceful physicality, his cockiness giving way to insecurity and doubt over the course of the play. Bradshaw keeps the action fast paced and sharp, like the dialogue.
Luciana Stecconi’s set is a masterpiece, the dark, gray walls of the medieval village transforming easily into a sumptuous banquet hall with an imposing portrait of Cuddy’s fierce deceased mother dominating the landscape; Sir Arthur’s machismo trembles beneath his formidable wife as he remembers what a tough woman she was. Chelsea Kerl’s costume design is exquisite and in keeping with the period. While Silverman uses the play “The Witch of Edmonton” as source material, ultimately, what’s happening onstage in the 17th century still resonates with us today. For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/
