Take your pick: Ebenezer Scrooge or George Bailey, Buddy the Elf or The Grinch, The Muppets or Charlie Brown, "Love Actually" or "Die Hard", or countless saccharined Hallmark movies -- the Christmas Season is well underway across the River Region; and families are preparing for their annual treks to gather for celebrations that often come with challenges.
One such family gathering is currently being depicted at The Cloverdale Playhouse in their solid production of Dot [2015] by award winning actor and playwright Colman Domingo. The place is a house in West Philadelphia owned by African-American matriarch Dotty Shealy [Chrystal Bates]. -- J. Scott Grinstead's remarkable set transforms from kitchen to living room between the play's two acts, and it's worth watching the smooth scene change during the intermission. -- It's a few days before Christmas, and Dotty's three children try to figure out what to do about their Mother's growing dementia. Not your typical Christmas fare.
Shelly [Curtia Torbert] feels overburdened and overwhelmed as her Mother's primary caregiver; son Donnie [Gregory L. Blanche] is an unemployed "musical archivist" in denial about Dotty's condition as well as his own shaky marriage to his white husband Adam [John Selden]; flamboyant youngest sibling Averie [Perci Hale] seems completely fixated on herself. Shelly's white childhood friend Jackie [Annie Gunter], who was Donnie's sometime girlfriend in high school and who still has feelings for him despite his sexual identity, is pregnant by her married lover. And Fidel [Bo Jinright] is an illegal immigrant from Kazakhstan who provides Dotty with compassionate daily attention.
Greg Thornton directs with a sure hand in this two-and-a-half-hour production, creating a tight ensemble of actors by affording each of them appropriate attention and gleaning subtly wrought characterizations. Though the script often devolves into shouting matches, and there are a number of comic one-liners and a lot of adult language in the dialogue, Mr. Thornton's guidance keeps the focus on Dotty's dementia and its effect both on her and her dysfunctional family and extended family.
Ms. Bates is most effective in her portrayal of Dotty's ever-changing demeanor and the devastating effects of old-age: forgetfulness, distraction, and frustration are counterbalanced by Dotty's recognition that she is unwell and her determination to keep her independence as long as possible while ensuring that her children comprehend it by experiencing what she is going through.
We feel for all of them. Anyone who has experienced dementia in their family can understand its effect on its younger members: denial, reluctance to find professional help, long-held sibling rivalries, as well as happier memories that surface when the situation seems unbearable. So, audiences are conscripted into this world.
Though it takes a while to unravel, and for the participants to put aside their grievances in order to agree on a course of action that is best for everyone, the evening at the Playhouse with Dot and her family should give audiences a sense of family unity for the holiday season.
