By Jason and Alisha Hagey
Near the capital building in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Acting Company’s (SLAC) presentation of Yoga Play is a formidable theatrical force helping us to learn while we laugh. In keeping with values at the core of SLAC, Yoga Play is a unique perspective from a contemporary voice. Dipika Guha’s (Playwright) play is brave and adventurous, probing into the topical depths of race, nationality, commercialism, identity, Otherness, and what we are willing to sacrifice for what we want. In so many ways, Guha turns the typical conversation of these topics on its ear and creates a deconstructionist perspective that is unnerving and mind-blowing. The socially-aware satirical production is one part Saturday Night Live and another part Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Guha grapples with immense social issues with uproarious humor and sharp-witted commentary.
Yoga Play’s story centers around three employees of the fictional athleisure company jojomon (a direct riff on lululemon). The trio set out to cut costs and improve profits for the organization when an unexpected turn of events causes a public relations nightmare. The panic that ensues creates a hilarious, farcical chain of events that causes them to spiral into a wildly inappropriate and more-than-morally-questionable realm of deepening deception.
A dark comedy, Yoga Play has found adept hands in Penelope Caywood (Director). Recently for SLAC, Caywood directed two exceptional plays for younger audiences. This play is distinctly for adults, but she supplies the same kind of whimsy and fun to the action of this play as she does for children. Her expertise and experience take Yoga Play’s controversial themes into a realm of engaging entertainment that’s both boisterously intriguing and endlessly ingenious.
The relentless trio at the center of everything is composed of Jeanette Puhich (Joan), Abhiijith Harikumar (Raj), and Archelaus B. Crisanto (Fred). Puhich is powerfully sympathetic and terrifying. She captures the depths of Joan, showing that she is dark and cynical while equally relatable. Harikumar is a welcome addition to SLAC. He has an “everyman” quality that shines with honest emotions and intense comedic talent. Crisanto is vibrant. He is a solid foundation, smart in his acting choices, coming across with fresh veracity and veteran skills. The three of them entertain with their comic brilliance and passionate energy.
Supporting this outstanding team is an equally deft duo. Joe Crnich (John Dale, Gurugi, Ensemble) is extraordinary. He takes on some almost impossible characters with seeming ease. Jennica Anusua (Romola/Ensemble) delights with every moment she is on stage. Together they are captivating and provide incredible foils for the other three.
This play requires the design team to be seamless. The world of the play happens in several locations (including the digital world), and Gage Williams (Set Designer) captures those locations in a wonderful, dynamic set. These diverse locales have to be lit to enhance the sense of place and Matthew Taylor (Lighting Designer) literally illuminates the varied scenes with clarity and veracity. Michael Francis (Media & Projection Designer) plays well with Williams and Taylor, especially in the digital world often used for communication. Once again, the ubiquitous talent of La Beene (Costume Designer) never ceases to amaze. Beene’s approach to costuming is always colorful and reliably representative of character. They are believable as individuals, as part of a collective ensemble, and in the world they inhabit.
Yoga Play will require you to flexibly accept its rambunctious premise, and be courageous enough to face the funny, honest, and surprising things that make this play a delight. This is perhaps the best way to explore the quotidian quandaries of contemporary culture: head-on and fearless. In a world where ideas are replaced by snark and debate with dismissal, Yoga Play doesn’t give in to frivolity and mere amusement. Instead, the content of the play is never flippant or form-over-substance. Yoga Play supplies profound seriousness with endless silliness. We are given a spoonful of sugar with a healthy dose of medicine. Therefore, while we laugh we also are asked to think, and this gives us the greatest opportunity. Aristotle postulated that learning should be pleasurable. Yoga Play expects us to learn but does so in the most pleasurable of ways.
Salt Lake Acting Company Presents Yoga Play by: Dipika Guha
Salt Lake Acting Company – Upstairs Theatre – 168 West 500 North, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84103
April 12th to May 7th, 2023
With performances Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 1 PM and 6 PM.
Ticket Cost: $32-47
Box Office Phone: 801.363.7522
Box Office Email: info@saltlakeactingcompany.org
Open 11am – 5pm, Mon – Fri
SLAC Website
SLAC Facebook Page
Accessibility Performances:
Open Captioned Performance
April 30 at 6 PM
Audio Described Performance
May 7 at 6 PM
Sensory Performance
April 22 at 2 PM
ASL Interpreted Performance
May 6 at 2 PM
0 Comments