Review: Appropriate at Dirt Dogs

If you want to impose dysfunction on a family, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins certainly flooded the Lafayette clan with all his wealth in his 2014 piece, Appropriatenow on stage at Dirt Dogs.

Set in a trash-strewn two-story Arkansas plantation house (another fine ensemble from Mark Lewis), the Lafayette siblings, Toni (Malinda L. Beckham), Bo (Jeff Featherston), and Franz (Christian Tannous ) reunite again weeks after their father’s funeral. to deal with the liquidation of the indebted estate and the hoarding mess left by their father.

And they are not alone. Joining the cleaning crew are Toni’s teenage son Rhys (Brock Huerter), Bo’s wife Rachel (Elizabeth Marshall Black), their two children, Cassidy (Carolyn Richards) and Ainsely (Michael Hellman), and Franz’s fiancée, River (Skyler Sinclair). .

That much family in a room during a period of post-death stress, and you know it’s not going to go well. Especially when they discover a book of unforgivably violent historical racist photographs that forces them to rethink everything they thought they knew about their patriarch. And then wonder if this sordid past could be monetized to their advantage.

But wait, that’s not it. As if this drama wasn’t enough, Jacobs-Jenkins throws a bowl of spaghetti of affliction at these people.

During their two days together, we discover that these people also struggle with drug and alcohol addictions, pedophilia, financial problems, divorce, potential incest, troubling porn preferences, pregnancy and the will to fight each other.

All this could have been exciting, like a August: Osage County on steroids. Or an in-depth look at how a family’s shame is suppressed, manifested, and repeated/evolves from one generation to the next. Instead, it suffers from the worst possible theatrical sin, the absolute lack of tension.

It’s embarrassing to say that the discovery of horrific racism, callous financial greed, creepy sex, violence, etc. is embarrassing. does not cause us any discomfort. We want to feel something here. We want to be disgusted, angry, or feel like there’s something at stake in all of this.

And it is difficult to truly analyze where exactly the lack of energy comes from.

Part of the problem is the writing itself. Jacobs-Jenkins is well known for putting his characters in uncomfortable positions and forcing them to discover their true ugliness. He is also a master of violence as somewhat incidental inevitability. We saw this brilliantly realized in the production of 4th Wall Gloria2016 Jacob-Jenkin finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

But at the same time Gloria gave us shock, consequences and insight, Appropriate, for all its salaciousness, gives the impression that there is no air in the tires. it’s a lot, but none of it has any bite. And with a runtime of almost 3 hours, that’s way too long for us to wonder when the results will arrive.

The other problem lies in production.

For much of the series, it felt like director Ron Jones couldn’t get his actors to move fluidly or achieve the heightened emotions the script called for. In one instance, Toni spits anti-Semitic jargon at Rachel while the sisters-in-law fight. “Jew, Shylock, Kike,” says Toni when baited.

Rather than grimace, we shrug our shoulders, it was such a tension-free exchange. If we don’t care about this, how can we care?

Unfortunately, it’s not just this scene where Beckham, a talent we’ve greatly appreciated in the past, falls short. On a positive note, she chose to play the role of her older sister Toni and not a hysterical, tyrannical sister. There are no exaggerated explosions and it is a courageous choice worthy of our respect. Yet in her restraint she comes across as somewhat robotic, undermining the much-needed pace the piece needs to keep us engaged.

As Bo, Featherston does well in the heart of the series but does nothing to merit his eventual emotional breakdown.

Whatever strange sexual tension was supposed to be felt between cousins ​​Rys and Cassidy was amicably attempted but ultimately lost by Huerter and Richards.

It’s only Tannous in Franz and Sinclair in River who bring the juice. Franz, as a nervous, doubtful, screwed-up man trying to shake off his troubling past, gets some great physicality from Tannous who steals every scene he’s in. Sinclair breathes exquisite hippie life into River’s philosophy of letting the flag of your feelings fly.

So, in the end, what Appropriate? It’s a family drama. It is an examination of the fight against past wrongdoings/secrets. It’s a clinical look at a small part of the racial ecosystem. It’s an allegory for how trauma is rationalized and repackaged.

It certainly looks good on paper. But theories don’t create good storylines and intentions can’t support a production with soft conflict. Unfortunately, Appropriate the dysfunction alleviates instead of disturbing.

Appropriate continues through June 8 at MATCH, 3400 Main. For more information, call 713.521.4533 or visit matchouston.org. $30 with tickets to pay for the matinees and the show on Monday, May 27.