By Rick A. Elina
NDG Theatre Critic
Trinity River Plays, by Dallas native Regina Taylor floods into the theatrical estuary of the Dallas Theater Center and the sweeping current of the headwaters immerses the audience into the sights, sounds and (even) smells of all things holy about Trinity. At the crux of this trilogy, are the familial issues of trust and betrayal, loyalty and alienation and ultimately, forgiveness and hope. Love is lost and love is found as the characters drift through seventeen years of life, often times engulfed by it, struggling against the tide while choking on the darkness that lies beneath the surface.
In Part I, Jarfly, Iris (Karen Aldridge) is a sixteen-year-old aspiring writer about to turn seventeen. She is left in the care of her Aunt Daisy (Jacqueline Williams) and Cousin Jasmine (Christiana Clark), while her mother is away. Iris is talkative and nerdish, long before Bill Gates made nerdism popular. Ms. Aldridge portrays Iris with a graceful geekiness that makes her instantly lovable. She pines for a neighborhood boy, Jack, played convincingly by Samuel Ray Gates. Jack also has aspirations; he dreams of becoming a pro basketball player. During a chance meeting, Jasmine decides she wants Jack for herself, leaving Iris abandoned and betrayed. Jasmine’s treachery foreshadows the ultimate betrayal yet to come, when Iris must defend her innocence against unspeakable evil.
Rain, Part II, picks up when Iris, now thirty-four, returns home a success. She must now face the fallout of the tragic event that happened long ago. Harboring her secret, she finds herself in the middle of an emotional tug of war between Aunt Daisy and her mother, Rose, portrayed by the gifted Penny Johnson Jerald. Rose harbors a secret of her own. As we know, secrets, both past and present, take their toll and like a cancer, they metastasize to destroy all who harbor them.
In the final segment of the trilogy, Ghost (story), Iris finds herself at a crossroad in her life. Rose, now dead, haunts Iris as she comes to terms with the ripple effect of her teenage past and it’s devastating impact on her adult present. The result is a satisfying conclusion.
Scenic Design by Todd Rosenthal was near flawless. The set drew the audience into Rose’s home with a place set right at the kitchen table. When the characters are ready to eat, so are you. The resulting atmosphere was warm, intimate and inviting. Karen Perry’s costume design captured the period of each story and reminded us of the fashion felonies of the Seventies, when we all should have been arrested by the Fashion Police.
Trinity River Plays, runs 3 hours and 20 minutes, including two fifteen minute intermissions with performances through December 5, 2010. For tickets or more information contact Dallas Theater Center at (214) 880-0202 or online at DallasTheaterCenter.org.
Rick A. Elina is a playwright and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
