"The Thanksgiving Play" - by Larissa FastHorse - Moonbox Productions (Cambridge, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: The CAST of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse from Moonbox Productions in Cambridge, MA. now playing through December 15, 2024. Photo Credit: Sharman Altshuler)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“I don't think we're supposed to speak for anyone but ourselves."
- ("Jaxton") / Larissa FastHorse
Moonbox Productions
Presents Larissa FastHorse's
"THE THANKSGIVING PLAY"
Written by Larissa FastHorse
Directed by Tara Moses
Cast Includes: Marisa Diamond (Maya Q'eqchi) as "Alicia," Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed (Nipmuc) as "Logan," Ohad Ashkenazi as "Caden," Johnny Gordon as "Jaxton."
Performances:
November 21, 2024 through December 15, 2024
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Performances at Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA. 02138
TICKETS:
Contact the Box Office at https://moonboxproductions.org/tickets/
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
Moonbox Productions presents "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" and, with all the play’s good intentions, it may still leave more than a few in the audience wanting.
Written by Larissa FastHorse, the 90-minute play is a bizarre satire served up with a more serious underlying message.
That message?
To instill guilt upon those descended from European imperialists who were oppressors of Indigenous Americans by celebrating Thanksgiving and eating turkey (yeah, you, shame on you!).
While the play attempts to do this in a more humorous way, the Moonbox staging tends to stray from that humor far too often, thus missing the mark.
This is not the fault of the four-member cast, each of whom is exemplary in their respective performance.
Written in 2015 by Larissa FastHorse, "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" there is a rich irony in that Native American FastHorse has written a clever play about four white characters seeking to tell the story of Native Americans at the First Thanksgiving.
Yet, then again, that's exactly what Caucasian writers have been attempting with their version of the facts of the First Thanksgiving and of Native American "characters" for centuries.
"THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" premiered Off-Broadway in 2018 then returned to advance to Broadway in 2023, making Larissa FastHorse the first female Native American playwright to have a play produced on Broadway.
(Photo: The CAST of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse from Moonbox Productions in Cambridge, MA. now playing through December 15, 2024. Photo Credit: Sharman Altshuler)
"THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" shows us four annoying (non-indigenous) characters who have assembled with a mission to present an elementary school play about the holiday and, in particular, the very First Thanksgiving.
What starts off as a sociopolitical mission by this quartet soon becomes an interpersonal rivalry and, ultimately, they discover much more about themselves than Thanksgiving.
Leading the charge is high school teacher and director, Logan (Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed), a vegan who is directing the Thanksgiving play (sure, why not) after a disastrous run of "The Iceman Cometh" she staged with 15-year-olds.
Logan enlists her impulsive street entertainer boyfriend, Jaxton (Johnny Gordon), who enables Logan at every opportunity but tends to get in his own way in the process.
Goodspeed and Gordon work well off one another as the both ill-paired and ill-prepared Logan and Jaxton.
(Photo: The CAST of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse from Moonbox Productions in Cambridge, MA. now playing through December 15, 2024. Photo Credit: Sharman Altshuler)
In effort to make her play “authentic,” Logan has hired "authentic" Native American actress Alicia (Marisa Diamond), who turns out to be far less than authentic and far more or, well, more accurately...exactly...what she seems.
As the "simplistic" Alicia, Diamond provides some humorous moments as the self-absorbed actress (hired by Logan) who soon becomes the focus of everybody's attention…only not in the way she is used to.
Rounding out the quartet is elementary school teacher, Caden (Ohad Ashkenazi ) who is also an aspiring writer, enthusiastic about working on the creative process to make such an ambitious play...at first.
As well-portrayed by Ashkenazi, Caden quickly becomes disenchanted with the endless disagreements further augmented by the absence of a clear plan by Logan and his fellow cast.
The goal of the well-intended but fractal foursome is to present the story of the First Thanksgiving in such a way that, given that this Thanksgiving coexists with Native American Heritage Month, the play must focus attention on the plight of indigenous Americans over the centuries.
(Photo: The CAST of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse from Moonbox Productions in Cambridge, MA. now playing through December 15, 2024. Photo Credit: Sharman Altshuler)
Revealing their collective limited knowledge of the above, the quartet continuously fails in their mission spectacularly.
Conversations span from Christopher Columbus, Catholicism, the annihilation and oppression of Native Americans, the underrepresentation of indigenous cultures in media and dearth of employed actors, and even viewing the Native American identity itself as one, single culture instead of as each of its many, separate tribal identities.
The Moonbox staging of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY," directed by Tara Moses, flows yet occasionally falters - not from FastHorse’s material, but rather from the execution of the play’s intent which, here, feels rather unfocused.
The show comes across as if not knowing whether the FastHorse text is intended to be farce or message play, a dramatic comedy or a comedic drama.
Yet, in attempting to be all of these things at once, it seems to hit a wall.
(Photo: The CAST of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse from Moonbox Productions in Cambridge, MA. now playing through December 15, 2024. Photo Credit: Sharman Altshuler)
The Moonbox cast breaks the fourth wall at times not called for from the script (and yet, the times when it is called for by the script, the approach works extremely well).
However, the staging also attempts to be farcical during moments which clearly do not call for farce.
Conversely, it attempts to be serious at points which also clearly do not call for it to be serious and throws in a gut punch of “localized guilt” (albeit warranted) as an added bonus.
There is even a moment, seemingly coming out of nowhere, where an over-the-top “explosion” of white foam (indicative of a mass slaughter) encompasses the actors and the entire stage, making the stage slippery and thus making it literally more difficult for the actors to perform.
For the scene as written the above was more than what was required.
Much of the humor in "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by FastHorse comes from all the political correctness triggering as a result of endless "woke landmines" put in place, primarily planted by Logan and Jaxton.
"THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" also interjects several vignettes based on factual, insensitive and culturally horrific samplings of other songs and skits designed to offer elementary school instructors a "fun way" to help teach young students how to "celebrate" the holiday.
Thankfully (pun intended), it is this that serves to elevate the entire FastHorse piece.
(Photo: The CAST of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse from Moonbox Productions in Cambridge, MA. now playing through December 15, 2024. Photo Credit: Sharman Altshuler)
Even with all the technical elements (lighting, sound, costumes, etc.) of the production squarely in place and well-executed, "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" is still not a theatrical feast that will satisfy everyone's literary taste.
Yet, for those who are willing to embrace some collective personal guilt in exchange for a hearty helping of the elevated humor, then they will come away from the feast with some satisfaction.
There is still enough here to recommend the Moonbox staging of "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" primarily giving thanks to a good cast and a side dish of laughs.
Moonbox Productions' "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" continues at Arrow Street Arts in Cambridge until December 15th.
For tickets and more information, contact the Box Office at https://moonboxproductions.org/tickets/
BUY TICKETS
Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
Isn't it time we rethink Thanksgiving?
That's the question on the table when four politically correct performers get together to create a new take on the traditional holiday pageant.
Good intentions turn into outright tension as the group struggles to re-envision history, all without ruffling any feathers.
Rambunctious, wild, and fearless, "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" by Larissa FastHorse serves up history and humor with a steaming side dish of uniquely American hypocrisy.
Are you ready to eat your words?
ABOUT MOONBOX PRODUCTIONS
Since its founding, MOONBOX PRODUCTIONS has been honored by numerous laudatory reviews and raves from audiences and critics alike – garnering MOONBOX PRODUCTIONS numerous IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards ranging from Best Musical, Best Actor & Actress, to Best Scenic and Costume Design recognitions. MOONBOX PRODUCTIONS was founded in 2011 by Producer/Artistic Director Sharman Altshuler. Based in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MOONBOX PRODUCTIONS is dedicated to supporting local arts and local artists, and to connecting communities to the non-profit organizations that serve them. To fulfill their artistic mission, MOONBOX PRODUCTIONS taps the deep well of talent within their own communities to bring top quality theatrical experiences to stages throughout the Greater Boston area. To fulfill their social mission, they partner with a local non-profit organization for each show, giving them visibility on their website and in their promotional materials, as well as giving them access to their audiences in order to raise awareness of their cause, create connections within the community, and increase the reach and impact of their work.
30 Brattle Street
Third Floor
Cambridge, MA. 02138
