Through Sun 5/31
Wonder what the first graders at Fairfield Elementary were thinking? In Cleveland playwright Eric Coble’s Fairfield, we never find out; they are invisible. But the parents we meet in this broad satire more than make up for it with their earnest attempts to be good, do the right thing. All fails madly and goes, of course, comically wrong.
It’s also a pretty revealing look at our educational system. The naive, but self-righteous beginning teacher Laurie Kaminski (an intense Crystal Finn) who got her job (it is implied) because she’s related to the pompous Superintendent Snyder (the versatile Brian Sills, who also plays hapless parent Scott Flemmingsen), tangles herself and her first-grade class into an impossible miasma of political correctness as they explore the history of slavery in honor of Black History Month. Her principal, Angela Wadley (played as stylish, smart, and on task by Nedra McClyde), also well-meaning, also new, finds herself capitulating to her own self-interest when faced (literally) with the superintendent’s whims (and pants). He’s pretty much a sexist pig. Women (feminists, non-feminist alike) may find themselves nodding “Uh huh. Yeah, been there.”
Two upscale parent couples complain, both trying to defend their children after the white child whips the black one after teacher Kaminski splits the children into “slaves” and “slaveholders.” Both the white parents Molly (Leenya Rideout) and husband Scott (Sills) and the black parents Daniel (Bjorn DuPaty) and Vanessa (Marinda Anderson) express horror at what has taken place.
Young teacher Kaminski attempts to undo the damage by bringing in what she assumes is a kindly (because he’s old) survivor of the revolutionary movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The ensuing (and now hilarious) rant by the feeble but still feisty Black Panther Charles Clark made some people squirm (whether they agreed with him or not). As Clark, DuPaty (sporting what appears to be a fake belly since he’s quite trim in a revealing final scene) completely trashes ideas of forgetting past battles and surrendering to belief in progress towards racial harmony.
Finn, not one to give up, organizes the school’s First Annual Celebrethnic Potluck, a parent/child school event. By the time the potluck is over, we are ready to join parents Daniel Stubbs and Molly Flemmingsen in their ironic, exasperated celebration of historic shibboleths invoking slaves in chains and white-robed Klan members.
Bottom Line: Remember that this play is satire and you’ll likely find it hilarious. The takeaway message from this brilliant work beautifully directed by Laura Kepley? Only by continuing to bring forth what lies underneath all the so-called “acceptance” of our increasingly interracial society, facing our demons and ceasing to blame everyone else for problems can we hope to find a world we can explain to first graders without feeling ashamed. The talk-back after every performance offers everyone a useful chance to share opinions and ideas.
Fairfield continues in the Outcalt Theatre until May 31. To order call 216-241-6000 or go toclevelandplayhouse.com.
[Photo by Roger Mastroianni]
[Review by Laura Kennelly]
Cleveland, OH 44115