Pink Unicorn

Trisha Lee works as a cleaner in a hospital in Sparkton, Texas. She is a church-going Christian. She adored her late husband. The focus of her life is her 14-year-old daughter Jolene. Or is it Jo? And what does "gender fluid" mean? And will Trisha ever get used to calling Jolene, no, Jo, "they"?

Photo: JazelleArtistry

While Trisha is gob-smacked at Jo's announcement of gender fluidity, she responds totally from a place of love. Well, love mixed with confusion and fear. And when her pastor compares the LGBT community to Nazis, and the school system cancels all after-school activities rather than allow a Gay-Straight Alliance, Trisha finds herself turning into an activist, even while dragging her feet at every step.

Although playwright Elise Forier Edie, herself the parent of a trans child, occasionally leans toward "transgender 101" in Pink Unicorn, she also fills the play with love and compassion and knowledge and an important sense of the grays in which most people live, rather than the blacks and whites of the doctrinaire and the haters. 

Edie is most fortunate in having Amy E. Jones as her director and, particularly, Alice Ripley as Trish. Among other strengths, Jones utilizes the whole stage in Pink Unicorn, providing visual variety in this one-woman show while never having Trish's movements seem arbitrary. And Ripley imbues Trish with a deep humanity. One-person shows can be staid, but Ripley brings Pink Unicorn to life by reliving the story as she tells it to us.

Wendy Caster
(first row; press ticket)
Show-Score: 80

Next to Normal

Next to Normal is a superb musical. Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's depiction of a woman derailed by mental illness and loss, and of the people around her, mixes compassion, humor, insight, and a wonderful score to explore the deepest parts of human lives. It's a staggering achievement in many ways. (The plot is discussed in mega-spoiler detail below.)

Benjamin Sheff, Carman Napier
Photo: Bella Muccari

The Gallery Players' production of Next to Normal (running through October 5) is an honorable, straightforward, and frequently successful attempt to grapple with this challenging show. Next to Normal needs, first and foremost, a top-notch actress and singer to play Diana, the lead character, as she struggles with bipolar disorder, disappointment, and grief. Carman Napier is up to the challenge. Her performance is smart and subtle; her singing is excellent and her enunciation is clear; and she looks and feels right in the part. She's too young, but she's so good that it doesn't matter.

Next to Normal also needs to be technically successful; the sound, in particular, is quite important. In this aspect, unfortunately, the production fails. At best, the balance between music and performer is barely okay; at worst, it is terrible. The night I saw the show, Lindsay Bayer, as Natalie, was frequently inaudible, through no fault of her own. It wasn't clear if her mike was broken or the sound cues were off, but her performance was lost. As was much else.