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A Review of the Play, Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally, at Baltimore Center Stage


I recently saw Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally, the fourth play of the 2019/2020 season at Baltimore Center Stage. It is written by Noah Diaz and directed by Taylor Reynolds in co-production with The Playwrights Realm.  Once I settled into my seat, I was drawn into this 1950s tale with a present day feel of a dysfunctional family coming to terms with grief, loss, estrangement, and finding love in between.

Richard (played by Neimah Djourabchi) is dying from a terminal illness and reaches out to his estranged sister, Jane (played by Michelle Beck) in an effort to mend their relationship. Although an adult, Jane still feels twinges of being under his shadow.  Now she’s come back to the house where they both grew up in and feels like a guest amidst his children whom she doesn’t really know. Dick (played by Jay Cobián), Richard’s son misses his mother (played by Vanessa Kai) dearly who passed away and dresses up in her clothes and shoes in hopes of being close to her. And there’s Sally (played by Treshelle Edmond), Richard’s deaf daughter whom he doesn’t want to learn ASL and instead wants her to read her books and practice her speech patterns. Before Jane came along, Dick cried a lot and Sally used to spend most of her day talking to Spot (played by Noah Averback-Katz), the dog.

Throughout the play, I enjoyed seeing the transformation within each character and amongst themselves.  I loved the scenes with Richard and Jane as they argued as siblings each wondering why the other didn’t reach out till now. Yet, there was love hidden beneath the surface as she cared for him. Bittersweet images when the mother would appear peeking in on her earthly family knowing her husband, Richard would soon join her. Touching moments as Jane made efforts to connect with her nephew and her niece (learning sign language with her). Other tender moments when Richard bonded with his children when telling them to be strong knowing they would soon be orphans.

The cast was excellent: Richard – coming to terms with his illness; Jane - pulling the family together through forgiveness and love; Dick – exploring the world in an effort to put his grief and loss in perspective; and Sally – learning another way to communicate through ASL and getting her father to understand her choice (kudos to Treshelle Edmond for educating the audience through her acting as an ASL performer).

Overall, this play did a great job of presenting the themes of grief, loss, estrangement, and love within a family albeit a dysfunctional one.  We all to some extent experience these emotions in our lives, but I think it’s all about the journey of getting to a place of understanding and love. This, I know for sure as I have lost quite a few family members within the past year and so I’m taking each day as it comes.

You still have time to see this show playing now through March 1, 2020. So, get your tickets today!


A PLAY ABOUT FAMILY, AND OTHER INJUSTICES

See Richard go. See Spot bark. See Dick cry. See Sally sign. See Jane struggle after a lifetime in her brother’s shadow. The classic world of “Dick and Jane” is beginning to fracture in this witty and raw look into one dysfunctional and dissembling family.


  

  Check out this video from the playwright: 


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