Susan-Lori parks and the Public have presented a moving and ephemeral portrait of America that has to be experienced. Using a combination of broad and subtle strokes, this three-hander takes the audience on a journey patrolling the borders of our perceptions about good, evil and every shade between. Buddy played beautifully by Amari Cheatom is the quintessential prodigal son whose checkered past has been redeemed by a Bronze Star winning stint in the service of his country. His skeptical US Border Patrol Officer of a father named Vet, played by the awesome John Doman, is about to receive an award of his own for intercepting a shipment of illegal Cannabis-sativa from Mexico. Between the two estranged men stands Grace who passionately loves them both. Grace, played as a down-to-earth, scared feminine step-mother and wife by Elizabeth Marvel, collects “evidence of good things” in a scrap book, augmenting them with her own thoughts and meditations about what good is like the Magic Castle in Disney World. Staged in the intimate environs of the Public, 90 minuets of un-interrupted, surreal family drama unfold. This is not a laugh fest, but a gut wrenching portrayal of what is good, decent, decadent and evil about what we are as a nation and a family. Deftly directed by James Macdonald with an alive set by Eugene Lee and Projection/Video design by Jeff Sugg, we enjoyed a thought-provoking evening.
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