Hiro is returning to Kentucky for her younger sister Sophie’s wedding, after fleeing to New York City, some time ago. After watching her dad constantly degrade her mother, Hiro decided her only recourse was to find her own way, emancipated from the provincial Christian values of Louisville. Before she boards her plane, she processes the ordeal to come with her therapist. Her plan is to talk Sophie out of getting married, lest she suffer the same fate as their poor, beleaguered mom. As irrational as this seems, it’s difficult to blame Hiro. Even by Toxic Alpha standards her father is insufferable, so it’s not hard to understand why she believes Sophie is making a mistake. Still, the idea that you’d want to dissuade someone from marriage, simply on principal, seems to border on the pathological.
Once Hiro arrives in her old hometown, she crosses paths with old girlfriends, a high school flame, Sophie’s bridesmaids, and her colorful family. She and Sophie seem to be the only ones who are reasonably normal, though their mother seems less obsequious than resigned. While Hiro may be justified in her disgust, it doesn’t explain why she has neglected those who truly care for her. It’s not long before her histrionics echo her dad’s tirades, and we start to wonder if her conflicts are internalized. She seems to be judging everybody but herself.
Written by Leah Nanako Winkler, Kentucky is that best kind of comedy, one that conceives a narrative that naturally generates humor, instead of a plot that’s parenthetical to the gags. Like Neil Simon or Wendy Wasserstein, Winkler finds a premise that engages, that pulls on us, because there are also unsettling moments, clarifying moments, poignant moments, though the overarching thrust is to amuse us. Kentucky is not the sort of show that resolves every question or feels vaguely didactic. Yes, Hiro has her epiphany, but she doesn’t make decisions a lesser playwright would have chosen.
IMPRINT theatreworks has made Kentucky a submersive experience, with tablecloths, an open bar, a buffet and all the accoutrements we’d find at a wedding reception. It really enhances the large, convivial, ensemble cast, and effectively creates the illusion that we are guests, even though we know better. There’s a curious effect of lightness and eccentricity contrasted with a more serious subtext, but just like Brighton Beach Memoirs and The Sisters Rosensweig, the mirth feels organic and earned. IMPRINT doesn’t hesitate to embrace the outre’ or unorthodox, to jettison the traditional for the sake of surprise and delight.
IMPRINT theatreworks presents Kentucky, playing August 2nd-17th, 2019. Arts Mission Oak Cliff: 410 South Windomere, Dallas, Texas 75208. 469-729-9309. www.imprinttheatreworks.org