In the very funny, very smart ⊂PORTO⊃, Kate Benson has a lot to say. Not only is she the playwright, she is also the narrator, commentator, thought-bubble maker and humorist playing the ⊂ ⊃ of the title. Porto is our main character, a single woman in Brooklyn, living life but filled with all the standard, almost required, anxieties of today. The play begins in darkness listening to musings from ⊂ ⊃ about the making of sausage casings. Stay with me, please.
When the curtain opens, we are in a hipster bar with foie gras sausages on the menu. Delicious or revolting animal abuse? The smarmy bartender (Noel Joseph Allain) thinks one thing and Porto’s friend Dry Sac (Leah Karpel, perfect) is clearly, and drunkenly, on the other side of the argument. Dry Sac doesn’t eat very much, “just olives and bitterness.” How we think about ourselves and others, and what we think and why, is the terrain we travel in this play, primarily from a woman’s perspective. The journey is rich, complex, silly, recognizable, witty and awkward, like life itself.
⊂Porto> is structured with our playwright’s voice walking us through yet also commenting on the action and scene changes. This is my second Kate Benson play, the first being A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes. Also very funny, that play used sports commentators narrating the action of a family Thanksgiving. If we are keeping score, Ms. Benson is 2-0 with WP Theater. Both plays were splendidly directed by Lee Sunday Evans to not only coax out the humor but also the humanity of the characters.
A coproduction with The Bushwick Starr and in association with New Georges, WP Theater has mounted an outstanding production in all facets. The set design, lighting, direction and casting are all excellent. These actors fully inhabit their roles, yet the audience has the luxury of filling in the details with people we know or stereotypes we winkingly know about. Julia Sirna-Frest plays Porto in an exquisite match of character and performer. You want to see what happens to her long after this plays ends.
WP Theater focuses on promoting female artists. Mission accomplished with this outstanding play and this production. If you want to try off-Broadway, this is a great opportunity to see what all the fuss is all about. Approachable, offbeat, clever, smart, thoughtful and hilarious, ⊂Porto⊃ is just about perfect theater. Oh, did I forget to mention the ending? Extraordinarily memorable.