Stage Review - Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth (The Underground Theater)

Stage Review - Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth
Presented By: The Underground Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: April 12 - May 12, 2024
Date Reviewed: Thursday, May 09, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

There is no shortage of dystopian fare out in the media universe, most of it taking a current situation, whether it’s the diminishing of reproductive rights, to what seems to be an increase in unchecked power wielded by those in authority, or any number of takes on our current environmental crisis, and creating a dotted line to a future in which our very existence is threatened. Few films, books, or works for the stage, though, put these together in such a way that acts as both a wake up call and a call to action like the new work from playwright Cris Eli Blak, Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth. Cris is a New York based prolific and award winning writer for both the stage and screen and brings this new work to Seattle in a production presented by The Underground Theater, directed by Brodrick Ryans and on stage at the Base Camp Studios through May 12.

The general plot of Cris’ dystopian future isn’t too much of a departure from many others out there. Earth has become inhabitable, too warm for its fragile and complicated ecosystem to survive. There is very little, if any, drinkable water and the majority of the wildlife has gone away. Humans, in their infinite wisdom, and typical fashion where everything, including their natural habitat, is disposable, have migrated to the moon. Well, some humans, anyway. Not surprisingly, certain groups were selected to hop aboard the moon-bound ships and certain ones were left behind, with the promise that they would come back to collect them all in the near future. Those left to fend for themselves include those of black and brown skin, the poor, the homeless, and so forth, and no, the ships that were promised never appeared. The genius of this situation depicted in Brown Bodies is that while it provides a viewpoint centering on racism, as certainly that is a driving factor in who went and who stayed, Blak shines a light on the all too important aspect of socioeconomic disparity and discrimination, but never gives an answer to how much of each contributed to the decision making. The audience is left to determine for themselves how much is purely racial and how much is socioeconomic that disproportionally affects black and brown skinned folks as a result of systemic issues that they can’t break free from. This is the overarching background for the story, it’s never covered what life on the moon is like, the characters here assume that it has to be better than the dust bowl of a planet that they were left behind on, but on the other hand there’s an implied reasonable doubt, too, after all it’s not home. The play doesn’t stop there, though, Blak asks in his own way how and why have we all let it get this way, to the point where a group of powerful and largely white people can just up and leave, while the rest remain behind? Is it because the way the largely white group in charge treat those that they have “othered” is so horrendous, yes, but also unfathomable that there’s no way to realistically react to it, and before an idea develops, it’s too late? Or is it because the people who are being discriminated against are just not the monsters that the folks doing the suppressing are? Again, it’s left to the audience. The culmination of this conversation happens when one of the characters asks, “Why didn’t we just have a race war?” Of course, it’s not, nor has it ever been, that simple.

The story itself has two seemingly separate story arcs, the first centers on Deejay Flo Sister, a woman who is hunkered down in a shelter where her sister, who was a doctor but had been prepping for what she thought was the impending zombie apocalypse, had hoarded medical supplies and food. It should be noted that Flo’s sister, most likely because she had “value” to those in charge as a doctor, was one of the few black skinned people who was allowed to board a ship to the moon. Flo, meanwhile and probably as a result of her sister’s prepping, has a radio set in which she broadcasts daily the current state of things as she knows them, the decreasing distance of the earth to the sun and the warming that is a result. This particular piece of the story is a miss I feel. While Cris Eli Blak does a fantastic job of setting the context for this human story, I feel like he could have doubled-down on the cause of the warming, rather than presenting the idea of the planet warming as a result of the sun getting closer to earth, when in reality the opposite is happening. I just think that having the people who have left be the ones responsible for what they’ve left for everyone else would have added another layer to this already well constructed story.

On the other end of Flo’s radio are Clover and Reed, two of the black skinned people that have been left, their lives reduced to saving the only available sips of water and Clover heading out daily to hunt, mostly in vain, for food to eat. The pair are on opposite sides of hope, Clover hopeful that they’re going to be “rescued” at some point, while Reed seems to have given up, though his listening to the radio for any updates belies this. One day, while hunting for food, Clover comes across Simeon, another left behind, who has been shot in the shoulder. Much to Reed’s chagrin, largely because there’s not even enough food and water for Clover and him, Simeon comes to stay. Staying is not just a drain on already low resources, but Reed just can’t deal with Simeon’s positivity. Relationships are strained to begin with as a result of a loss that Clover and Reed share, and adding another to the mix brings tensions to a boil.

The beauty of telling a human story like this in a small setting is that actors can go all in on their portrayals without having to worry about exaggerations or projections, there’s no “Row Z on the balcony” that they have to act to with the same impact as they do for “Row A in the orchestra”. Director Brodrick Ryans has set the Base Camp Studio space in a traverse configuration, think of it as two locations with a runway between them, Flo’s shelter on one end with Reed and Clover’s on the other. It’s a nice configuration to show distance between the two locations, though with the seating facing into the runway, it’s not so easy on the neck (especially for us older folk) to look in one direction for a time, then to the other, and back again.

Where the space excels, though, is in how it presents its actors and how it allows the actors, in turn, to present their characters. Rachel Nellie is Clover and Donovan Mahannah plays Reed. The two play these contrasting characters wonderfully, and while there’s an underlying bond between the two, they also have no problem challenging each other. The dialogue here is very well written, it feels quite realistic, and it’s delivered thoroughly by Rachel and Donovan, they’re not just saying the words, they’re expressing them with their entire bodies, they feel what they’re saying on stage. There’s a point in the show when the audience can see the emotion rising up from inside Donovan’s Reed until it shows on the outside, and in a space like this, the entire process can be seen. It’s a very good bit of acting and it’s a privilege to see. Rachel’s Clover is also excellently performed, Rachel is fully bought in to the character and emotionally puts it all out there. Joining that pair on stage is Jeffrey L Cheatham, II as Simeon. Jeffrey’s performance is funny, it’s honest, and it’s very good. Simeon is a talker, and his interactions with Reed are like watching The Odd Couple, but Reed does eventually soften toward his new “houseguest” and the pair become a trio in a nice turn of events that is very well acted. As good as these actors are together, and provide some of the most emotionally charged moments of the show, the actors are wonderful individually as well, and are each featured in wonderful monologues that give the audience some backstory and character depth for these performances.

On the other side of America, or at least the stage is the bunker where Deejay Flo Sister is. Eugenia “Snow” Pierce plays the only other voice that many of those left behind will hear, assuming that, like Reed and Clover, those people have a working radio. Eugenia opens the show, speaking out into the void in her own monologue, and spinning some soulful tunes that accompany her “weather report”. She’s good as that voice on the radio, but even better when Zachariah enters the picture. It turns out that Flo came across Zachariah while he was out hunting for food, but he can remember little else. While Zachariah finds himself, he and Flo become closer. Kaughlin Caver’s performance in this role doesn’t have as much stage time as the others, but his performance is key in helping to understand what it is like in this future where it’s every person for themselves.

There’s a saying, “Gold is where you find it”. Sometimes the best art can be found in the most unassuming places, and within Seattle’s arts community there’s no shortage of places that are tucked in corners or even underground. This is why The Underground Theater is so aptly named, and why Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth is the perfect show to have its world premiere with this company and underground at Base Camp Studios. Playwright Cris Eli Blak has created a dystopian world that shines a light on both racial and socioeconomic discrimination as well as climate change and how adaptable, or non adaptable people can be when dealing with all of these issues along with the grief of loss. It’s a complex story, constructed very well, and performed emotionally and passionately by a cast that is bought into their characters and leaves everything on the stage floor.

The world premiere of Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth runs on stage at the Base Camp Studios in Seattle through May 12. For more information about TUT, the show, and to purchase tickets, visit https://underground.theater/.