Susan Ferrara's Peasant is somewhere between workshop and theater at this point: it's a bunch of raw material that's waiting for the yeast to collect, warm, and rise. In the meantime, there are a few fully saturated plot-points that help feed the audience tasty morsels of an immigrant past, and even the nondescript moments are far from indigestible. Ferrara sells the work with her character acting, but with no set or props, she's forced to sell the show more on mannerisms and comedy than with the underlying drama. Additionally, the show is still a little confusing, skipping between roles, times, and ideas as it does. While the clipped poetic pace is consistent (think Elmore Leonard), the narrative is not, and without taking anything away from the work, I hope Ferrara remembers to add enough conflict to her mixing bowl when she makes the final product.
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