By ADAM CROWE
A Seat on the Aisle
This week, change is on my mind. My assignment is a play that, among many things, asks a 2023 audience to consider the lack of power and agency faced by women just a scant 50 years ago.
This, in turn, got me thinking about change in general. One change that struck me was how fluid performing space has become. Those in control of physical spaces are not just helping smaller, newer theater companies by sharing – but in doing so, they are also helping to support their own missions in the process. One such symbiotic relationship is on display at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center, where American Lives Theatre has just opened the World Premiere of Jennifer Blackmer’s play Predictor.
Blackmer is a Professor at Ball State University and has won numerous writing awards. It is easy to see why. The playwright uses the arsenal of her talents to tell the story. Predictor is sharp, funny, surreal, and, at times, deadly serious. In addition, it is based on real events.
(From left) Brittany Magee, Clay Mabbitt, and Christine Zavakos in a scene from Predictor, on stage through May 28 at the Phoenix Cultural Center. (Photo provided by American Lives Theatre)
In 1967, graphic artist Meg Crane worked for a pharma company that, as part of its business, performed pregnancy test results for doctors. In this onstage telling of the story, it doesn’t take long before Crane’s ingenuity and creativity get the best of her, and the creation of the first at-home pregnancy test is set into motion.
In turns, Predictor is a memory play, an absurdist romp, and a heartfelt dissection of the roles that gender and power play in nearly every aspect of life. A simple consumer product, who’s worth is immediately recognizable to any woman of childbearing age, repeatedly gets its existence controlled by men. Director Bridget Haight marvelously spins the story in the Phoenix’s black box Basile Theater with just a few mobile set pieces.
The cast is uniformly terrific and orchestrates every moment with precision and a deft touch. Brittany Magee plays Crane with an innocence that builds to righteous anger. With her, actors Clay Mabbitt, Drew Vidal, Christine Zavakos, Zack Neiditch, Jen Johansen, and Miki Mathioudakis spin a cast of characters that I won’t spoil here. Each character is brought fully to life. They are amazing storytellers, individually and as a cast.
Kerry Lee Chipman’s scenic design is simple and ingenious. Molly VanNatta’s costumes set the time with perfection. Laura Glover’s lighting and Mina Keohane sound design are equally in tune with all the elements.
Brittany Magee (right) as Meg Crane with Jen Johansen (background). (Photo provided by American Lives Theatre)
Bottom line: American Lives Theatre has once again demonstrated that it is home to serious artists making enthralling theater. Predictor is telling an important story and doing so in ways that every audience will appreciate. This is a play worth your time and your attention.
American Lives Theatre’s production of Jennifer Blackmer’s Predictor runs weekends through May 28 on the Basile Stage at the Phoenix Cultural Center, located at 705 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis. Tickets and further information can be found at AmericanLivesTheatre.org.
Read more great play reviews from A Seat on the Aisle at asota.wordpress.com.