This Thanksgiving I was home, cooking and going to see the Macy’s parade live for the first time on what turned out to be the coldest turkey day in over a century. My toes were not happy. The parade was great fun in person and the meal was traditional, comforting and delicious. The night before the big day, I decided to check out The Thanksgiving Play at Playwrights Horizons. “Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in Larissa FastHorse’s wickedly funny satire” was the description that drove me to start celebrating the holiday with a little snarky fun.
In the program notes, we learn that Ms. FastHorse is a Native American who loves Thanksgiving, the food and time with family. A great quote: “I love a whole day set aside to focus on gratitude.” She is also acutely aware that this holiday was created by President Lincoln who was looking to unifying a very divided country during the Civil War. (Maybe Ivanka Day is coming?) After the Pilgrims survived their first New England winter, the inaugural feast occurred in 1621. Centuries of genocide followed. That is not what is taught to our children in school however.
Ms. FastHorse cleverly framed The Thanksgiving Play as a comedy with her characters in an elementary school. They are rehearsing for the upcoming holiday show for the children. Since the three locals are all white, they hire an actress to bring a real Native American to the proceedings. The actress (Margo Siebert) does not really fit the description but she was an understudy for Jasmine in Aladdin, so that will have to suffice.
The play essentially covers the rehearsal period as they work through a series of scenes or improvisations to form a believably realistic message of what Thanksgiving means from the Native American point of view. Well-meaning white liberals who are vegan-friendly, yoga practicing and self-lacerating attempt to do the right thing. How should white people who are sensitive to the “true” history of this vilified race of people put on a play with white people playing all the parts and telling the story, as did the history books?
There are laughs in this play and the main target of Ms. FastHorse’s wit is clearly racism. Her play covers a lot of ground and meanders around a lot of topics. As a result, the play rarely hits the acerbic satire level that could be achieved. There is one scene which is outstandingly inappropriate, contains horrifically offensive props and is very, very funny. Four or five more of those scenes would elevate The Thanksgiving Play to a higher level of inspired lunacy or repulsive absurdity. Instead, the production is a nicely performed, mildly amusing diversion. It’s like turkey with no gravy. Enjoyable but a little bland.