Ashley Hoskins, Emmalee Hilburn, Bez McMullen, Khalia Denise, Amari Harris, and Kathy Graham in Paint Night
The most recent entry in the Playcrafters Barn Owl Series, Paint Night is a dramedy in the vein of Steel Magnolias and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. Just in time for Women’s History Month, this play, directed by Madelyn Dorta, presents a slew of hot-topic issues in the guise of a fun night out and features an all-women cast.
The premise is simple enough. A group of five women are getting together to celebrate a bride-to-be. Their activity of choice is a paint night, where they'll all be guided through the created replication of a particular painting. Along the way, they’ll drink, gossip, and expel their deepest, darkest secrets. This isn't to imply that things here aren’t funny – they frequently are. It’s just that Paint Night's comedy feels more like light seasoning in a rather heavy stew. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Author Carey Crim's characters are introduced one by one. First up, Miriam (Kathy Graham). The mother of the bride, she’s going through a lot. Her son is missing, her daughter won’t stop hitting her up for money, and she doesn’t seem to be much of a people person. Not long after arriving, Miriam also pukes, which prompts the entrance of Vera (the hilarious Emmalee Hilburn), the owner of the art studio. Not long after, Bree (Bez McMullen), enters, in the midst of trying to receive more support for her child at school. Her friend Gwen (Khalia Denise) shortly follows, followed by the bride’s Aunt Fern (Ashley Hoskins). Which leaves the bride Lolly (performed in the first weekend by Ashley Gomez, and stage manager Amari Harris in the second). Habitually tardy, Lolly arrives fashionably late, much to the chagrin of everyone else. She’s not too bothered by their displeasure, though. After all, she just returned from a spiritual walkabout overseas and is seeing life from a more Zen perspective.
Paint Night takes place in real time, a little over two hours, with the only break in action being the intermission, when Hilburn recommends everyone give their paintings about 15 minutes to dry. Hilburn occasionally walks the other women through the process of creating a painting, but most of the dialogue and action is idle chit-chat. I think this style of writing can work, and work well. But during Friday’s performance, Crim’s script often felt clunky and overwrought.
I initially thought that this was probably my biggest gripe throughout the evening: the clunkiness. I don’t know if it was a particularly bad case of opening-night jitters, or if another week of rehearsal was necessary, but things never quite took off the way I'd hoped. Often, it seemed like a line was dropped, or someone waited too long to pick up their cue, all of which really hampered the naturalistic feeling of the dialogue. It also may have been Dorta’s direction, as she seemed to struggle with utilizing Playcrafters’ unwieldy thrust stage. Several scenes happened all the way upstage, behind the proscenium, for minutes at a time, for no real discernable reason. And every actor only seemed to have three positional modes: sit in place, stand in place, or meander aimlessly while monologuing. And there are so many monologues.
That’s ultimately my biggest issue with Paint Night: the script. There’s a laundry list of hot-button topics that Crim's characters run through: racism in policing; breast feeding in public; burial methodology; cell-phone usage; social-media usage; faith and religion; trans lives; and even more that my editor-imposed word count can’t afford to mention here. Most of these topics would be heavy and dense enough to warrant a story of their own. Yet here, they’re run through in a couple of minutes each and then almost immediately forgotten, as if Crim is scrambling to show off how hip and with-it her talking points are. And because there are just so many topics on display here, none are really given the amount of discussion they individually deserve. I am very much a member of the choir being preached to here, and yet I still found myself rolling my eyes whenever yet-another monologue got rolling.
Not to say that this show is without merit. Playcrafters' scenic design is once again gorgeous, and I’m thrilled about the Barn’s recent dedication to creating full sets with immaculate set dressings. The scattered supplies, the paint splatters on the floor, the hand painted signage above the door – everything looks authentic. Big kudos to Graham, Dorta, Daniel Schaummann, Kendall and Kathie Burnett, and Gabe Thompson for erecting a knockout scenic design. And the performances are good, in spite of the uphill battle the actors are fighting.
It would be unfair if I didn’t include that my dissatisfaction was seemingly in the minority during Friday’s performance. People were laughing, gasping, and reacting to all the drama being unspooled onstage. Maybe I just wasn’t in a theatre mood when I attended Friday’s performance. Still, there are some strong performances here, and I could certainly see how some would really enjoy Paint Night as a night out with the girls. Playcrafters' latest wasn't for me, and might not be for you – but then again, it could be.
Paint Night runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL) through March 24, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
