Stage Review - Significant Other (Tacoma Little Theatre)
Stage Review - Significant Other
Presented By: Tacoma Little Theatre (TLT) - Tacoma, WA
Date Reviewed: Friday, April 21, 2023
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
There’s a time for many of us, when we’re single with our lives laid out in front of us, a time when we feel invincible, steeled by the support of our close friends, whom it seems will always be there, right by our sides. In those times, even when we talk about marriage, jobs, or other plans, there doesn’t seem to be any scenario in which those in our close friend group won’t always be our best friends. Of course, it rarely works out that way. Time goes by, friends get married, and as is the nature of such things, there’s always that proverbial “last man standing” in the friend group, left largely to fend for him or herself. Joshua Harmon’s play Significant Other, on stage at Tacoma Little Theatre (TLT) through May 7, tells the story of one such group.
Directed by TLT’s Managing Artistic Director Chris Serface, Significant Other is the story of Jordan Berman and friends Laura, Vanessa and Kiki. Jordan, unlucky in love himself, watches as each of his friends, first Kiki, then Vanessa, and finally Laura find their significant others and move on from the friend group. It’s Laura’s that hits hardest for him, she being the best of his friends, his former roommate, and his go-to for consolation in tough times. And there are tough times. She’s there for him when he’s got a crush on a new co-worker and his obsessive tendencies start to get the better of him, there when Jordan meets someone he cares about and doesn’t know whether or not to send that email, or how to act when they’re in a room together, and there of course when Kiki and Vanessa get married, to help him navigate through what seems to be an impending and unending loneliness. But what happens when it’s Laura herself that gets married? Is Jordan losing his best friend? Is he being replaced? Significant Other explores each of these questions, and then some. It’s a look at how friendships evolve over time and how love transforms and tries to find its way through the hills and valleys of life and growing up.
Significant Other is simply an entertaining show. Told with a lot of humor, but with enough levity to bring out its inherent humanity, it’s a production that grabs the audience from the opening scene and doesn’t let go through the final curtain. Chris has assembled a group of creatives who have taken Joshua Harmon’s source material and raised it to another level. The show’s pace is wonderfully quick, scene changes fluid and seamless, some even overlapping where needed to keep the plot moving. Much of this has to do with the creative use of Tacoma Little Theatre’s video screen, which Blake R. York has employed to help deliver his excellent scenic design, providing the backdrop for an office, a museum, a nightclub, and multiple wedding venues, sometimes simultaneously on different areas of the stage. The stage itself is used efficiently for movement, the video screen stretched across, save for two doorways, expertly used for moving within and between settings. Case in point, late in Act 2, when Jordan and the group are in a nightclub, he’s able to leave through one doorway and enter through another at the same time the background changes, providing a natural and fluid transition from indoors to out. There are no clunky set changes in Significant Other, no waiting around for set pieces to be taken off or brought back on, all contributing to the show’s near perfect pace.
Lighting (Niclas R. Olson) and sound (Chandler Garry) are also important contributors to the achievement that Significant Other is. The show is a prime example of everything working together creatively and technically, and this season represents the best and most efficient use of TLT’s space and production technology to bring a show to life. Each technical and creative component is designed, scaled, and executed in the best way to support this production. From the atmosphere of the nightclub that the group frequents, to the solitude of a lonely dance floor, and a grandmother’s nostalgic living room, it’s all of these pieces executing together synergistically that brings a realism to Significant Other, a realism that is its heart and at the same time the reason it all works so well.
The success in this show doesn’t just result from its technical and creative aspects, but it also has to be delivered by the actors. These actors don’t just deliver, they excel. The show is designed to be quick, to move rapidly from scene to scene, and the cast needs to establish that pace early and sustain it, while delivering all of the emotions that their roles demand. Most of the heavy lifting is done by Nick Fitzgerald, who plays Jordan. It is, after all, Jordan’s story, but there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to shine, both individually and together. Corissa DeVerse is Laura, Jordan’s best and seemingly longest running friend. Together they joke about a life together as two perpetually single friends, and then help each other navigate their friends weddings and each other’s relationships. The chemistry between Nick and Corissa is clear, and the emotion between the two feels real. Credit to both of them. Nick’s Jordan is funny, charming, hopeful, and sad, each of those emotions in conflict with each other as he looks at the state of his life. Corissa is solid in Act 1, but gets better and better as the show progresses until her best scene, an emotional pouring out of her heart in Act 2. The soul that this show has is built from its humanity, that comes from the emotions portrayed by its actors, and this cast puts it all out there in this performance, delivering their lines and emotions confidently and precisely. And while it starts with Nick and Corissa, as Jordan and Laura, friends Vanessa (Amanda McCarther) and Kiki (Tryphaena Singleton) are just as good in their roles. I absolutely love the swagger and confidence that Tryphaena brings to her Kiki. She does it with a more subtle brand of humor than say Nick does with Jordan, but it’s effective nonetheless. Finally, Amanda’s Vanessa, the second of the group to get married, begins the show as perhaps the most low key of the group, but transforms when she meets her Mr. Right. It’s a fun transition to watch and her portrayal of Vanessa is very entertaining.
In addition to the excellent leads, the show employs a strong supporting cast, with three other actors sharing the duty of covering seven roles. Rodman Bolek handles three himself, Will (Joshua’s work crush), Conrad (Kiki’s husband), and Tony (Laura’s Significant Other). Meanwhile, Paul Richter is Evan (Joshua’s crazy gay co-worker, for lack of a better description), Roger (Vanessa’s husband), and Zach (Joshua’s friend from his past). Each character is different, some level headed, others completely off, but all just as entertaining, and well performed, as the next. It’s a testament to their ability to pull each of these off as well as they do. Finally, there’s Jordan’s grandmother Helene, played by Sharry O’Hare. Helene has always been a constant in Jordon’s life, though she’s gotten to the point in her own life that she feels like she’s just lived too long, burdened by her memories. At the end of the day, she cares for her grandson, and though she has no real ability to help him with his social life, it’s her caring that provides purpose. Sharry’s portrayal is solid, she plays a wonderful version of a grandmother who is always there, always willing to lend an ear. Top to bottom, this cast is excellent, another cog in the well oiled machine that is Significant Other.
A final piece that needs to be called out is Michele Graves’ costumes. From Jordan’s sort of interchangeable formal and casual outfits to the fantastic wedding and bridesmaids dresses, it’s a stellar collection that seems to run in parallel with the mood of the show, whether it be humor, sadness, or seriousness, the costuming is on point.
Each season, there are a few shows that stand out, special theatre experiences in which every component works well individually, but come together to provide a synergy, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Told with a great deal of humor, and just the right amount of levity, Significant Other is one of those shows. It’s perfectly paced, sized right for its space, nails all of its creative and technical components, and is filled top to bottom with excellent performances by a supremely talented cast. Significant Other is a show about friendship, and its evolution over time, but it also touches on the individual, and what happens when one’s life isn’t what he or she expects, or even hopes. Director Chris Serface has taken a story that is funny, heartfelt, and relatable, and created a piece of theatre that truly wonderful, definitely among the best of the season to date.
Significant Other runs onstage at Tacoma Little Theatre in Tacoma, WA, through May 7. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/. Note that the show is recommended for ages 13 and up due to adult language and situations that may not be suitable for younger patrons.
Photo credit: Dennis K Photography