This weekend, JCC CenterStage
opened its 40th season doing what Artistic Director Ralph Meranto
does best: producing a new national work, with local actors, for local
audiences. Meranto partnered with Emmy-nominated
playwright Jason Odell Williams to develop “Church and State” nearly two years
ago. The collaboration was based on the success of the duo’s last project, the
hit Jewish holiday show “Handle with Care” (which was also developed in partnership
with CenterStage in 2012 and later went on to play more
than 100 performances Off-Broadway).
In a
talkback after Sunday’s matinee, Meranto said that it
was the January 2011 shooting of US Representative Gabby Giffords
and 18 others in Tucson, Arizona, that initiated the idea for “Church and
State.” The play begins just after a school shooting has taken place in
Raleigh, North Carolina, the hometown of Charles Whitmore, a conservative Christian
senator. After the funeral for the victims, Whitmore — whose current campaign
song is “Jesus is My Running Mate” — makes several newsworthy comments about
guns and God to a blogger.
“How could I
believe in a God who would let this happen,” he yells. The blogger records the
interview, and when the story hits Twitter that
afternoon, campaign manager Alex Klein and Whitmore’s wife, Sara, attempt to reason
with the senator before his next public speech. With an election just days
away, this could be the end of his career.
“Church and
State” only calls for four characters:Senator Charles “Charlie” Whitmore (Peter Doyle), his Christian wife,
Sara Whitmore (Beth Winslow), his Jewish campaign manager, Alex Klein (Esther
Winter), and an ensemble role comprising campaign assistant Tom, blogger
Marshall, and a security guard (Matthew Combs). There’s always the risk of a
weak link when a theater chooses a show with a small cast, but fortunately that
doesn’t happen in this production.
The first several
minutes of the show felt a little stiff, but the actors quickly settled into a
natural dialogue with one another. Doyle and Winslow used soft Southern accents
throughout the show, which thankfully remained consistent rather than
distracting.
Doyle, who
has more than 40 years of acting experience, sets the tone of the show with his
energy and commitment to the portrayal of Whitmore. It’s hard not to believe
that Doyle was typecast (he said during the talkback that he’s the very
opposite of Whitmore), because he’s so convincing in his speeches and struggle
throughout. As his wife, Winslow (who’s a trained improv
artist) strikes a balance between devout Southern trophy wife and wise better
half. Her “soft pretzel” scene is easily one of the funniest in the show.
Esther Winter,
as the uptight, sarcastic Alex Klein, is the right amount of salty to the Whitmores’ sweet (tea), and portrays a fully
three-dimensional character as the ambitious campaign manager who has a softer
side. Recent Nazareth College graduate Matthew Combs juggles several smaller
roles and manages to distinguish between the naive, eager campaign assistant
Tom and the fame-hungry, inquisitive blogger Marshall. Overall, the ensemble
gives the kind of shining performance that warranted Sunday’s standing ovation.
The central
focus of the set — also designed by Meranto — is a
large artistic interpretation of the United States map suspended from the
ceiling. Otherwise, each scene takes place in simple “green rooms” of college
and convention center auditoriums, consisting of a few metal chairs, a worn
leather couch, and a table holding water bottles, sweet tea, and other
refreshments. Off to one side of the stage is a flag and a backdrop emblazoned
over and over with the candidate’s name. A large screen is also lowered in for
several scenes to play nightly news excerpts and political ads (an effective
use of technology). Matthew White of 4th Coast Productions created the video
elements, which feature local actors Marc D’Amico, Jonathan Ntheketha,
and Mary Jayne Waddell as newscasters.
In June
2016, the National New Plays Network announced that “Church and State” would be
its 60th rolling world premiere, opening at The Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles
that month. The show is currently in readings in New York City and will open
Off-Broadway in 2017 — but for now, audiences can only see a full production in
Rochester. “Church and State” is one of the most stunningly relevant plays
currently onstage, and it’s not because of election season (though that doesn’t
hurt). It’s because of human nature, and because there will always be trauma
and doubt and redemption.
The show
runs 90 minutes with no intermission, and the action begins to move quickly
halfway through. A good number of Sunday’s audience remained for the talkback
with the cast and director after the matinee — the conversation was Q&A-style
as Meranto ran a microphone around the auditorium. “I
had forgotten, after watching TV too much, that there are still reasonable
people making reasonable arguments,” said one woman in the crowd, her voice
shaking with emotion. A silence fell over the auditorium, and then someone said
quietly: “Everyone go vote.”
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2016.
