Stage Review - Letters of Suresh (ReAct / Pratidhwani)

Stage Review - Letters of Suresh
Presented By: ReAct / Pratidhwani - Seattle, WA
Show Run: April 24 - May 12, 2024
Date Reviewed: Tuesday, May 07, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

I’m going to do something here that I’ve never done before, nor may I ever do it again. Before reading my review for Letters of Suresh, which is being co-produced by ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani, and on stage at 12th Avenue Arts in Seattle through May 12, do whatever you can to commit to seeing this production. It’s only running through May 12, so if by reading this review, you’re taking time to do something other than going to either theatre’s website to buy tickets, stop what you’re doing and go and do that. You can always come back to this later.

Now that you’re back, I feel more comfortable telling you what I think of Letters of Suresh in general, and this production specifically. First off, some background. ReAct and Pratidhwani are presenting Animals Out of Paper in tandem with Letters of Suresh, both by American playwright Rajiv Joseph. After publishing Animals Out of Paper (for a synopsis of that, you can read my review on our website), Joseph’s uncle read it and, as a result of the scene in that play that takes place in Nagasaki, Japan, sent the playwright a photo of his uncle (Joseph’s great uncle) standing in the ruins of a church in that town, after the devastation of the second atomic bomb blast. Rajiv was inspired at that point to continue the story of Suresh, the young genius and expert origamist, and use that photo of his great uncle as a sort of backdrop to it. For the telling of Letters of Suresh, Joseph is introducing three new characters into the canon of Suresh Thakur. Melody Park is the niece of Father Hashimoto, who has recently passed away in the timeline of the story. Upon going through his things, Melody comes across a box of letters and a piece of origami from Suresh, which inspires her to reach out, thinking that Suresh should really have his letters back. Her writing sets into motion a story told strictly through letters (and the odd phone call/facetime) from the perspective of four distinct people, Suresh, Melody, Father Hashimoto, and Amelia Wren, an ex-girlfriend of Suresh’s. In a society where we’re all communicating without actually “communicating” through our phones and electronic devices, to see a story told through the art of letter writing is a refreshing treat.

The cadence of the dialogue is just like listening to a letter being read aloud, one could almost close their eyes and form a picture of what’s being presented, it’s written that well. The actors here help it along very well, too. The show begins with Melody, writing out her first letter to Suresh. Melody is played by Mona Leach in a performance that is engaging and emotional, she fills an important role here as she is who brings the audience into the story. It’s almost as if Letters of Suresh is like a relay, where one actor grabs the baton from the other and is responsible for keeping pace. Mona easily draws the audience in, her character feels real and the audience has no choice than to become invested in her and her particular story. She then hands the baton to Nirvan Patnaik, who is Suresh in this version, and he takes it and just runs as fast as he can with it. There is some time jumping in the story here, Suresh starts at 18, right about when Animals Out of Paper stops, but then there is a five year jump and then another three year jump. Nirvan’s Suresh is a complicated portrayal, he matures by five and then by three years, but there’s still that 18 year old socially backward genius that comes out every once in a while, and the way this is acted is just superb. Keep in mind, again, that this entire story is told through letters, so that when we see that maturity, or that creeping in of the 18 year old, it’s mostly done through the character’s writing style, or his ability to change the lenses in which he sees his own writing, but it’s also the way Nirvan holds himself on stage, not to mention in his delivery of those written words. In fact, he’s different enough in his mannerisms after that first five year jump, it isn’t altogether clear that it’s the same actor. It is, of course. The third leg of the relay is up to Marianna de Fazio, as Amelia. Amelia is a smaller, but no less important, character here. She shared a pivotal time in Suresh’s life, frankly it was pivotal for both, and impacts how each of the characters has developed. The beauty of Marianna’s work here is that it’s nuanced, her Amelia has mixed feelings about hearing from Suresh and that comes through wonderfully. It’s an emotional piece of work that does exactly what it needs to in this story.

That brings us to the most important leg of our proverbial relay race, the anchor, and that is Stephen Sumida’s performance as Father Hashimoto. By the time the audience comes face to face with Father Hashimoto, they’ve already been brought to the edge of their seats by how intriguing this story is, in part because of how it is constructed, but even more-so as a result of the delivery from this cast. Stephen is the icing on the cake. His delivery, cadence, mannerisms, his command of the stage and his piece of this play is incomparable, and it’s all delivered sitting down. There’s a lot of emotion in this show, and it runs the spectrum, but the climax is so interesting and thought provoking, Stephen’s performance so breathtaking that it’s understandable why he’s had such a long and storied career, and bittersweet because this is his last, given his impending retirement from acting after this run of Letters of Suresh. It’s a memorable one for sure, and I can think of no better way to go out, than on top, like Stephen is doing here. This performance resonated with me, regardless of someone’s phone alarm going off in the middle of it. So frustrating for the actors and the rest of the audience, but kudos to this cast, and Stephen especially for acting through that distraction very well.

Letters of Suresh leaves the audience thinking; thinking about how we as a species communicate and interact, and a lot about religion, how we coexist among others who have been raised with a different faith, or even challenging the idea of God. There’s a lot beyond this as well, too much to list out here, but all presented so well within the context of the story. One that stands out to me is the idea that letters are like origami, both start with a blank piece of paper, but when they’re folded, they each transform into something that is a living organism, letters living through their words and origami through its shapes. And the way this show is constructed works very well, everything seems to fit, the time jumps, the handing of the baton from one character and actor to another, it’s a lot like a letter, in that like the written words, these performances come together to form a new living organism.

If you’re still here reading this, I have to assume that you read the first paragraph, when out, got tickets, saw the show, and have come back to the review, or you’re reading through it just to make sure that it’s worth going out to see it. Well, yes, it is worth it. It’s even worth the challenge of finding a parking space near 12th Avenue Arts, which was surprising for a Tuesday evening. Letters of Suresh is such a well written show, and so expertly performed that if you’re not able to get out to see it, it’s an opportunity missed. While I liked Animals Out of Paper, I love Letters of Suresh.

Letters of Suresh, a co-production presented by ReAct Theatre and Pratidhwani runs on stage at 12th Avenue Arts in Seattle through May 12. For more information about the show, visit https://www.reacttheatre.org/ or https://www.pratidhwani.org/.