Teaching can be a very fulfilling livelihood, with the potential to change the lives of those you touch, but it’s not without its challenges. Whether you’re dealing with a hectic group of students, trying to find companionship amongst the bitter faculty members, or trying to add your own voice to firm district curriculum, there are many stumbling blocks to teaching successfully. It’s these challenges that sit at the heart of the latest production by up-and-coming company The Sustainable Theatre Project, William Missouri Downs's Dead White Males, which follows a year in the life of a new teacher as she sails on the treacherous waters of the public school system, through obstacles that may makes her question her choice to teach in the first place. Featuring a wonderful cast of colorful, but thoughtful, characters played a well-selected group of actors, this quirky and emotional black comedy will have you laughing and crying in equal measure throughout the runtime of the piece.
Sitting in middle of the chaos of the play is Molly Fonseca as new teacher Janet, whose thick, large glass hide dreamy eyes full of hope and drive. Fonseca provides a shy awkwardness that mixes with a sense of pure determination to make her a true heroine, who we root for through all the tribulations she must battle through along the way. Janet handles herself with composure in almost every situation, the ideal friend and perfect teacher, putting herself on the line time and again for her friends, and Fonseca brings to all this a wondrous,lovable warmth.
The first friend Janet makes in her adventure is is Doris, played with panache by Suzanne Balling, a history teacher whose firm conviction and strong beliefs make her the target for the ire of both the principal and the head of the school board. Their beliefs butt heads many times throughout the play, and come to a head early in the second act, creating the most brilliant moment in Downs's play, as Doris explodes with righteous anger, roaring around the stage like a madwoman. Balling has a heyday with this scene, throwing herself into the role with wild abandon, her eyes wide and brimming with fury as she takes over the stage for nearly fifteen to twenty minutes.
The women bring their all to their roles, but we mustn’t forget the fine jobs done by the men in this production. Dennis Kelleher Bailey wins us over as the lackadaisical Principal Pettlogg, whose goofy sensibility belies a dark secret. Bailey offers dynamic range, showing us some a talent with humor during many of the more hilarious moments, but at the same time keeps his head while we’re thrown us into a moral tangle during the late stages of the play, adding an additional depth to his character. Also offering a fine presentation is Robert Deike as Dr. Ozy Mandias, new head of the school board, who first shows up with the tenderness of the kitten, but soon shows his lion’s roar, showing an unbridled anger that become important in the play’s final moments. Deike brings sternness to the role the moment he hits the stage, practically forcing us to pay attention, his straight-laced seriousness offering plenty of opportunities for humorous moments.
Dead White Males captures the humor of the everyday life of the modern teacher quite well, from the hectic whirlwind of franticness that is the classroom, to the bizarre, Kafkaesque elements of afterschool faculty meetings, but when it tarries into more dramatic territory, it sometimes ventures too far into extremes. The play comes off at times as more of a “what if” situation, with certain moments seeming far too tragic to be believable. Though it loses a bit of its realism, these moments do help to add an emotional resonance to the piece, so in the end, it’s mostly a fair trade off.
Dead White Males is playing through September 11th at the Hideout Theatre on Congress, with the author, William Missouri Downs in attendance for a talk-back after the September 10th performance. To purchase tickets and find out more information about the cast, crew, and writer, be sure to visit Sustainable Theatre Project's website at sustainabletheatreproject.com.
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