Echo Theater Company's Blueberry Toast Begins Performances
production of Mary Laws' Blueberry Toast, directed by Dustin Wills, at Atwater Village Theatre.
(© Darrett Sanders)
Echo Theater Company's world premiere production of Blueberry Toast begins performances tonight at Atwater Village Theatre.
Mary Laws' play is a darkly comic revenge tragedy asking the question, "What evil lurks in the heart of suburbia?" Walt (Albert Dayan) and Barb (Jacqueline Wright) seem like the typical suburban couple with a fabulous eat-in kitchen and two precocious children (Michael Sturgis as Jack and Alexandra Freeman as Jill). The scary thing is that maybe they are. Dustin Willis directs.
"Mary and I both grew up in the suburbs," says Wills. "We have a deep understanding of the lasting damage that comes from the demand for perfection – for the idyllic nuclear family unit, maintaining a well manicured lawn, remembering to always smile, not daring to raise your voice in public. This might be the ‘performance of life,’ but I’d hardly call it living. It's an unnatural and distinctly American form of socialization that causes us to stifle our primal desires, to squelch and push down our essential nature. Underneath, we’re all animals; if we don't take the time to acknowledge that animal or take that animal on a little walk, then it may eat us alive."
The creative team includes composer Scott Anthony, fight choreographer Ahmed Best, set designer Amanda Knehans, lighting designer Chris Wojcieszyn, sound designer Jeff Gardner, costume designer Kim Ngo, props designer Narges Norouzi, graphic designer Elizabeth Hale, and photographer Darrett Sanders. The production stage manager is Anna Engelsman, and Chris Fields and Jesse Cannady produce for the Echo Theater Company.
Performances run through October 23.
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