By Tanner David Tate
I saw PYGmalion Theatre Company’s I and You in Salt Lake City on Friday night. It is not extremely often that I leave a theatrical production without speaking to a single person, bee-lining for my car to sit and ponder alone. Rarely does a production speak to me in such a way that it consumes my thoughts for the entire walk to the car, the drive home, and several subsequent hours as I lie awake still reliving the moments of the show that have etched their way onto my heart. I never thought I would experience a story that causes me to call a good friend at 2 AM and skip the greetings by saying only, “You have to see this show.”
However, such is the case with I and You, written by Lauren Gunderson and produced brilliantly by PYGmalion Theatre Company.
The show opens on Caroline (Cora Fossen) sitting in her bedroom as Anthony (Tristan Johnson) enters unexpectedly. After a brief confrontation where Caroline demands to know what on Earth Anthony is doing in her bedroom, Anthony explains that he signed up to do a class project with her, and that her mother allowed him to come in. Caroline is sick with a dysfunctional liver, and is no longer attending school actively, and she believes that Anthony signed up to do this project with her out of pity. As Anthony convinces Caroline to assist him with this project that he is obviously more than incapable of accomplishing on his own, citing that he is officially on “Team Caroline,” she reluctantly agrees. The two start to learn a few things about one another, and over the course of a single night, they discuss their interests, their dreams, their tastes in music, and their deepest fears, all while exploring the poetry of Walt Whitman, (particularly the pronouns “I” and “You”,) as the topic for their project, and beginning to understand the importance of such simple words. The show delivers plenty of laughs, while still giving the audience plenty of reason to think, feel, and look outside themselves, rather than in. PYGmalion Theatre Company asks for Mature Audiences Only.
Teresa Sanderson helms this production as the director and has created several immensely memorable moments through clever movement of actors. The characters portray excitement and energy when discussing things they are excited about, and a powerful and moving stillness when they speak of the things that hurt. Chief among these, for me, is when Caroline finally erupts as Anthony pressures her to stop viewing herself as weak and screams into his face. A silent stillness follows, before Tristan wraps her in a hug. Up to the moment, the characters had little to no physical interaction, and few times, as I watch a live production, have I had to resist the urge I suddenly felt to stand up and start applauding on the spot. Sanderson creates a bond between these characters that exhibits perfectly why we attend the theatre in the digital age of movies and television. In her biography, Sanderson says it best: “We need each other.”
The show takes place on a simple yet imaginative set designed by Thomas George, with an impressive lighting design created by Molly Tiede, and a subtle yet appreciated sound design by Mikal Troy Klee.
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Fossen and Johnson are magnificent in their portrayals of an angry, bitter, and lonely high school senior, and a bubbly, awkward, funny basketball player, respectively. Their acting is beautiful and honest, evoking various human emotions within each individual in the audience. By the end of the show, every single one of us was on “Team Caroline”. PYGmalion Theatre Company creates a wonderful flowing of moments that will touch you in a way that few live theater productions may with their poignant I and You, at the Leona Wagner Black Box in Salt Lake City.
The PYGgmalion Theatre Company Presents I and You by Lauren Gunderson
Leona Wagner Black Box, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W 300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
February 2-17, 2018, Thursday-Saturday 7:30, Saturday matinees 2:00 PM
Tickets: $15.00-$20.00 General Admission, Wheelchair Accessible
Contact: 801-355-2787
PYGmalion Theatre Company Facebook Page
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