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Regional Reviews: St. Louis The Privilege of Being Second
The collective dream starts out just like that in The Privilege of Being Second by Eric Satterfield and David Nonemaker, now at the Greenfinch Theatre and Dive. But it's technically not "new," as the show had its world premiere at the Prison Performing Arts Alumni Theatre Company in 2023. And it's part nightmare, in its own fresh way. This is the second production, then, at the former Way Out Club through the authors' own Chorus of Fools Theatre Company, under the sometimes fearsome direction of Lawanda Jackson and Mr. Satterfield. Initially, their characters chafe under the control of a "one child policy" government, as an inspector bangs on the door to investigate the charges that this particular family may have a second offspring hidden somewhere inside their home. One of my favorite actors, Matt Anderson, appears in two wildly disparate roles: first as that inspector clad in an army uniform; and later as John Winter, the idealistic father of Wyatt and Reese. The story quickly grabs us as the family is given a hard shake by the intrusive lieutenant. After some warm, familial scene-setting, he barges in and intimidates the family's mother, Camille Winter (the seldom-seen but long admired actress Kelly Howe), and we're swept into the Winters' painful subterfuge. The walls of their home are lined with Reese's paintings, and Ryan Matthew Whaley starts out boyish and endearing before going increasingly mad in this 90-minute play (including intermission) as the artistic 15-year-old "second." In the play's climactic scenes, there's layer after layer of fire behind the eyes of his character. The first-born son, 18-year-old Wyatt, is played by the gently complex actor Andre Eslamian, the only cast member to return from the original 2023 staging in the same role. Here, his Wyatt constantly seems to have to remind himself that his brother's life is vastly different from his own, especially now that Wyatt is genuinely out in the world and off to college. Mr. Eslamian projects the image of a young alienist, alarmed to find he can't quite revive his hypnotized patient (Mr. Whaley) to the broader reality. The cast's overall collaboration on stage, tracing the younger brother's journey from innocence to shocking transition, and ultimately to something completely new, lends the play its careening impact. In theatre, we love a good story of overcoming oppression. Every thrilling play about cruel domination holds up each separate element of our own self-understanding to a bright new light. And here we hold our breath as a 15-year-old grapples between his "functional" personality, where he shares a set of goals and beliefs with a loving family behind closed doors, against the pounding reality of a contradictory self that must emerge to confront a common denominator. Mr. Whaley, as the younger brother, combines all that into an intense, intelligent "coming of age" ordeal. The furious fight scenes are choreographed by Ryan Lawson-Maeske. And all their unsettling work resembles Osborne or Pinter in the final minutes. The subterranean center of gravity seems to shift invisibly every time one of the actors takes center stage, on the panoramic set designed by Vickie Delmas and Mr. Satterfield with lighting by Bradley Rohlf. The props are by Ms. Delmas, with dozens of paintings by Jack Rimar. Ms. Howe, as Camille, becomes the bizarre fulcrum of it all in the show's second half, as the men around her explode with madness. And as the father, Mr. Anderson once again paves a brand new superhighway directly into his character's soul. In fact, in this rare case, all the performers on stage do that too, under directors Jackson and Satterfield. The Privilege of Being Second, produced by the Chorus of Fools Theatre Company, runs through July 12, 2026 at the Greenfinch Theatre and Dive, 2525 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.chorusoffools.org. Cast: Production Staff: |
