Appropriate
The setting is a former plantation home in southeast Arkansas. A family has gathered to deal with the estate of their deceased father. Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins riveting play Appropriate considers the multiple definitions of that word. The emphasis, however, is to take something for one’s own, typically without the owner’s permission.
Disrepair and old age have marred the former grandeur of this home. This family’s long history is evidenced by the graveyard of slaves on the property. Getting us to reflect on our current comprehension of America’s centuries long oppression for profit is only one level of this complex and fascinating study. The family itself is a combustible mess of anger, disappointment, feuds and regret.
Toni (Sarah Paulson) is the elder sister who is the self-appointed leader of the three siblings. She is organizing the estate sale. Her sullen teenager Rhys (Graham Campbell) is with her. Brother Franz (Michael Esper) arrives to get the job done quickly so her can return home with his wife Rachel (Natalie Gold) and two children. The youngest brother Bo (Corey Stoll), a colossal screw up and shameful embarrassment, shows up after a long period of incommunicado.
Cue the hoarding clutter that must be sorted out. I do not mean simply the overstuffed odds and ends that must be organized and sold off. There is a pile of emotional baggage rattling through this house and, in particular, through a very tautly wound Toni. The number one child and primary person who attempted to keep things under control is struggling mightily with the money grabbers jumping on a potential financial bandwagon. Where were they all these years?
Discovered objects lead to discussions, notably about the family history ensconced in a deep south plantation where there is no doubt slavery was a major factor in the family fortune. That economic glory is obviously long passed but the legacy of their past is a newly uncovered mirror. Peering in is not easy nor can the three agree on what they see in the reflection.
Was their father a racist or just an inheritor from a long line of people who prospered owning human beings? The latter is what the three from the current generation seem to be at the outset. What makes Appropriate so bitingly good is the wildly erratic moral compass this family uses to move through this experience.
Adding to that are seismic underlying familial tensions which come to the surface and sting. The siblings (and one spouse) go at each other like any family with deep seated animosity and steely protective barriers. Young Bo seems to be the most docile but his story is troubled and dark with a different maltreatment on his resume.
Bo arrives at the mansion with his hippy-dippy sage wielding girlfriend River (Elle Fanning). Their intent is not clear. Their motives are questioned and both are ridiculed. Knives are out as this family cuts into barely healed wounds. Amazingly, on top of these expressed minefields, the family tries to come to terms with their white ancestry from the period.
The play contains harrowing monologues and gut wrenching revelations. There are plot enhancing bombs which explode. The cast is, to a person, flawless in presenting these recognizably flawed individuals. Director Lila Neugebauer steers the play beautifully so that everyone is believably realistic yet theatrical.
There is a meaningful balance between bitterness and belly laughs in this play. We may recognize the dialogue from our own personal consideration of this American story. Mr. Jabob-Jenkins encourages us to glimpse our own personal reflections into the family mirror. I saw my mother telling me when I was a child that not all slaves had it so bad. Many worked in the homes not in the fields, she noted. Was that appropriate to tell a child? In how many “modern” American homes has this been said? It certainly explains her coming out of the racist closet made fashionable in the Trump era.
Does Appropriate have a resolution? Does America? Pair this one with Purlie Victorious (which I did over two successive evenings) for an immersive education in what schools are gleefully eliminating from their curriculum. History, like death, is often hard to face. Theater needs to challenge as well as entertain. This play embraces the cobwebs and, perhaps if we are lucky, takes another step in the direction of healing.
Appropriate is being presented by Second Stage at the Hayes Theater through March 3, 2024. Please note that seat discomfort in this theater is guaranteed and, as usual, other patrons were notably complaining out loud. Not exactly sure I understand why this situation has not yet been addressed.