Review By Ashlei Havili Thomas, Front Row Reviewers
Do you remember when the biggest drama was “who asked who” to the school dance and planning your future was as simple as a round of MASH? That’s the energy ThreePenny Theatre Company’s Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth at the Alliance Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah, brings to life. The play follows six tweens as they navigate the dramas of their evolving selves, changing relationship dynamics and burgeoning romance. Director Hanna Orr writes in her director’s note, “At twelve or thirteen, everything is so big. Everything is the biggest thing you’ve ever experienced. . . I hope Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth will give you an opportunity to return to the tween inside you and feel a little extra softness for that version of yourself. What parts of you did you leave behind at 13?” This show is sweet, punchy, and unlike anything you’ll see this fall, so don’t forget to check out ThreePenny Theatre’s Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth at the Alliance Theater in Salt Lake City.
The play features six unlikely compatriots—Star, Chick, Flo, Eve, Blake, and Jazz—all of whom are members of the “Friends of Female Focus” group at school (a remedial support group for “troubled” girls). Each of the characters fits a stereotypical teenage archetype at first glance: Flo the overachiever, Chick the goth girl, Jazz the theater-Glee-wannabe, Eve the cheerleader, Blake the manic-pixie-dream girl, and Star the tomboy. All of this is backlit by the middle school perfection of Jonah Kirkhart’s set design, from the whitewashed cinderblocks walls to the school dance posters plastered on them and the early Windows home screen projected above. The play weaves together six stories of personal struggles as the characters try and solve the age-old questions of “who am I?” and “who do I want to be?” As the play progresses, the actresses behind these roles truly bring the characters into three dimensions, showing their nuances, flaws and inner selves.
Ryeleigh Eliza (Eve) brings the pep and valley-girl essence while balancing it with down to earth sweetness and tangled romance. Eliza wraps the audience around her finger with her intensity and stage presence. Samanta Cuallo similarly brings vibrancy to the type-A control freak of Flo, showing the audience Flo’s internal struggle as she strives for an unattainable perfection, all while leading the dysfunctional Friends of Female Focus group. Annabelle Durham (Chick) is also an absolute delight to watch onstage, melting hearts as the audience come to love the kind girl behind the “scary” exterior. It was especially fun to see how Durham uses her collapsible cane to great effect as a prop, not just a mobility aid. Durham and Willow Rain (Blake) have fantastic energy together, never once dropping the ball, even in scenes with no spoken lines. Their scene work evokes similar memories in the audience of awkward friendship beginnings and how something as small as a shared interest can be the foundation of lifelong relationships. Rain herself creates an amazing character arc through the play, transforming Blake from the flitty, manic side character to a grounded, solid force. Kallie Filanda as Jazz brings subtlety to the otherwise overly dramatic and blunt theater queen as she is confronted by blunt truths about her. Perseus Cordero as Star is quietly commanding, demanding the audience’s attention while simultaneously bringing to life the character’s own desire to shrink themselves. Cordero brings the audience into Star’s world, showing the precarious line Star walks in this play and the heightened risks Star faces in comparison to the other characters. Yet Cordero shines, leaving the audience yearning for the still-fragile, mending relationships to reach a successful conclusion.
There’s nothing quite like the discomfort and chagrin most people experience when revisiting their middle school years. For many millennials, Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth from ThreePenny Theatre Company evokes a certain level of collective internal cringe and kid-like joy they thought was left in the early 2000s with AOL instant messaging and dial-up internet. As odd as it may sound, this sense of prepubescent disquiet and nostalgia is the perfect opening for the introspection this play demands to pose its questions about the female experience. While this play does contain mature themes and language, it’s meant to remind grown-ups of the beginning of a new chapter in their lives, a time full of change and the end of innocence.
ThreePenny Theatre’s production of Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth is funny, poignant, and direct, creating back-to-school fall vibes you’ll love. Don’t miss this quirky, fun piece this September.
ThreePenny Theatre Company presents Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth by Sophie Sagan-Gutherz
The Alliance Theater, 602 E 500 S Suite E101, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Dates: Sept 19-21, 26-28 7:30PM, Sundays 2:30PM
Tickets: $12-50
Marked Green at Birth, Marked Female at Birth Facebook event
ThreePenny Theatre Company Instagram page
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