Jonah at Studio Theatre
An interesting exploration of a woman's life.
Jonah is a play by Rachel Bonds. As Studio’s Artistic Director, David Muse, tells us, “the play both disorients and surprises.” It is an interesting play, and it takes some time until you realize it is covering decades in a woman’s life. In this production, the dialogue is good, but maybe even more so, you are kept enthralled by the great acting. This production is directed by Taylor Reynolds.
The write-up about the play received in advance from Studio Theatre is accurate. It reads “In this enigmatic puzzle box of a play, sweet sparks fly when teenaged Ana meets classmate Jonah. But Ana's secrets will drive her into complex negotiations of intimacy and survival as the decades pass.”
Despite its title, the story actually revolves around Detroit-born Ana (Ismenia Mendes), and Ms. Mendes shows us what a great actress she is. The play takes ust hrough many stages of her life beginning when she is in boarding school and meets Jonah (Rohan Maletira) another student, also a great actor, as are the other two men who are part of Ana’s life First there is Danny, (Quinn M. Johnson) her half-brother, and finally Steven, (Louis Reyes McWilliams), who comes into her life later in the play.
The entire play takes place in Ana’s bedroom, which stays the same during the different periods of her life, and each scene rotates around her bed. Jonah is the sweet young student, and they connect as virgins, and she teases him and it stays sweet. Jonah then vanishes when the play gets a jolt. It seems like lightening, and everything gets short-circuited, and Jonah is swept out the door.
As the play progresses, we learn after boarding school Ana became a writer, and we see her through her life’s interactions with all three men. We find out after her mother died, she was abused by her stepfather, then later ends up having a weird affair with her half-brother, Danny, who was the one who saved her from her stepfather. We are told he eventually committed suicide.
During about one hour and forty-five minutes, without an intermission, we learn about the decades of Ana’s life. The great acting, along with the dialogue, are so good, I never once looked at my watch the whole time. Ana and her men managed to keep me interested throughout the play.
The creative team for the production includes Set Designer, Sibyl Wickersheimer; Costume Designer, Danielle Preston; and Lighting Designer, Andrew Cissna. You will find out why for this play, the Intimacy Coordinator, Sierra Young, is so very important.
Jonah will be at Studio Theatre through April 19th and tickets are available online.