SALT LAKE CITY—Lee Blessing’s Eleemosynary you say? It is not that often there comes along a play that I have never heard of or seen, so when Scaffold Theatre announced this production directed by Jennifer Kunz Hoisington, I was very curious. The play, written by Lee Blessing, follows three women; a grandmother Dorothea (Jayne Luke), a mother Artie (Tatiana Christensen), and a daughter Echo (Avery Afton). The show is just 80 minutes long without an intermission. I delight in these shorter shows, where audiences can gain insight and introspection and still make it home at a reasonable time. Even though Eleemosynary premiered in 1989, this was the first time I had seen it and the show was only reviewed once at UTAJ in 2017.
Merriam -Webster’s dictionary defines the word eleemosynary as of, related to, or supporting charity, and that word plays a part in this play. Echo is raised by her grandmother mostly, who is decidedly eccentric, and her mother is off working in academics and trying to get as far away from Dorothea’s eccentricities as she possibly can. Echo and Artie only bond over spelling, and the three meet together at a spelling bee, where Echo wins with the spelling of “eleemosynary”, and the connection renews the hope of charity between the three.
As director Kunz writes in the program, the show covers more about how individuals both help and harm those they love, even when trying to give acts of charity. This production is a beautiful way to portray that metaphor. The set design by Kunz was quite simple, with a modest apartment layout, and a small upper level expertly used in blocking to give the production more depth. The lighting design by Avery Hoisington helps the small stage at Scaffold Theatre feel so much larger than a make shift warehouse. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see reimagined spaces like this used as places where art is created.
The costume design, also by Kunz, was simple and quite on point. Dorothea, as an eccentric, is wearing exactly what she should with light, fun, and free styles. She looked as though she dressed for herself and no one else. In contrast, Artie is dressed as if she was about to walk into an important business meeting, while Echo was dressed as a casual kid. Each costume fit the personality of the character perfectly.
As for the characters themselves, these actresses offered excellent performances. As a chosen eccentric myself, I smiled every time Jayne Luke playing Dorothea spoke. When Luke said the line “No one holds the eccentric responsible…eccentricity solves so many problems” I chuckled and smiled. Luke embodied this character with impeccable timing and talent.
The contrast of Christensen’s Artie is striking. Her levelheaded balance to Luke’s carefree nature on the surface is striking, but also Christensen’s portrayal of someone who always runs from her mother is quite stunning. As a therapist, I was intrigued by how she could get this depth of character, the person who did not let out visible emotion or connection, yet it was there underneath. When Christensen said the line “Never have a daughter, she won’t like you” it seemed to cut deep.
And finally Afton as Echo captured the literal balance between the two. Echo enjoys her grandma’s eccentricity but Afton showed the character’s sincere desire to connect with her mother. The raw emotion Afton brings to the end when Echo tells her mother that she will make her love her was heartbreaking. All three of these actresses dug deep into this beautiful story and showed just how hard it is to deal with family trauma, individual weaknesses, and the challenges between a mother and a daughter. I lost my own mother a few years ago and I have daughters of my own, and seeing these complicated relationships play out on stage was quite cathartic. These performers stayed with the messiness of relationships and leaned in. They did not step away from the hard and heavy, but showed how to love and lose at the same time.
Relationships are complex. Scaffold Theatre offers a unique and beautiful production exploring such complexity. Being able to watch how others navigate through them is an act of charity, and that charity is a great way to experience the gift of Eleemosynary.
MORE INFO: Eleemosynary plays on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm on these dates: November 6-7 and 13-14. Performances are at the Scaffold Theatre, Lighthouse Tree Studios (740 W 1700 S, Suite 5, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84104). Tickets are $14.64-28.52. For more information see scaffoldtheatre.org.
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