THE BASICS: FURSONA NON GRATA, a comedy by Jeff Goode, world premiere, directed by Drew Fornarola, produced by Bob Rusch of First Look Buffalo, April 14 – May 7, Fridays – Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 2, starring Kaylie Horowitz, Dan Torres, John Patrick Patti, Sarah Waechter, Susan King, Andrew J. Brown, Madison Sedlor, Clara Tan, and Lucas Colon. The Park School Theatre, 4625 Harlem Rd, Amherst, NY 14226. (716) 771-6358
You can watch an amusing trailer…
RUNTIME: A little over 90 minutes
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: This new comedy tells the story of a young woman who brings her long-time boyfriend and would-be fiancéhome to meet her family. She’s “forgotten” to mention one important detail: her family lives a furry lifestyle. NOTE: A “furry” is an enthusiast for animal characters with human characteristics, in particular a person who dresses up in costume as such. It’s a play about family and love, but also about family secrets, mistrust of others, and the desire to label the unfamiliar.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION:
Bringing your boyfriend home to “meet the fam” is a rich source of comedy gold. Family secrets will be revealed, old grudges will be re-hashed, and there will be large group arguments and in between those, there will be small group break-outs. You’ve seen the setup many times before with the Black boyfriend coming for dinner with the White family, the White boyfriend meeting the Black family, the Anglo meeting the Latin family, the straight boyfriend meeting the gay family, and in this case, the non-furry meeting the furry family. Being a comedy, it all has to work out in the end, so it’s the craziness of those 90 minutes that makes each story stand on its own.
If you Google the general topic of introducing your significant other to your parents or family, among the millions of results, you’ll find all sorts of advice from “Cosmopolitan” to “Psychology Today.” Even Martha Stewart has advice., so you can see it’s a real concern. There’s even a term for putting the meeting off. That’s known as “pocketing” wherein the person you’re dating avoids introducing you to others in her circle, whether it be friends, co-workers, or family. And that’s where FURSONA NON GRATA begins.
In this play, a very cute couple, Lisa (Kaylie Horowitz) and Dane (Dan Torres) live together in “the city” where Lisa moved after she left her family for more opportunities. As the play opens, Dane wants to propose but his endeavors keep being interrupted by phone calls from Lisa’s mom, Maureen (Sarah Waetcher). It seems there may be a crisis involving Grandma (Susan King) back home and so life has dictated the time and the place where Lisa will finally have to introduce Dane. They set out for the two-hour drive.
And what a family awaits to interrogate Dane and for Dane to try to understand. Or is it the family that Dane will interrogate, and they will try to understand him? By the way, the play’s title is a pun on the Latin phrase “persona non grata” meaning an unwelcome or unacceptable person. As much as Dane presents to us in the audience as a reasonable person and a genuinely nice guy, he will be treated as a persona non grata for most of the play.
So on one level, it’s a play about tribalism, circling the wagons, code words, and other social missteps, you know, the stuff of all “coming to dinner” shows. Playwright Jeff Goode, who has written over 50 works for the stage, certainly knows the genre and how to “work it.”
It turns out that Grandma is actually fine. Quirky as hell, but fine. The issue is really that Maureen, the mom, suspects, on the flimsiest evidence, that her husband (John Patrick Patti) has been unfaithful and she’s brought the family together to deal with that.
Lisa’s brother Nick (Andrew J. Brown) is a confused young man who lives in the basem*nt; Yava (Lucas Colon) is a former boyfriend of Lisa who has become a sort of second son; Alex (Madison Sedlor) is Lisa’s lesbian sister; and Terry (Clara Tan) is Alex’s transgender lover.
Mom, Dad, Nick, and Yava are seriously furry and are almost always seen in animal costumes (Kayla Victoria Reumann, costume designer). Toward the end of the play, we find out why they are furry. And we find out why mom suspects dad. And it’s all charming.
To me some of the most interesting moments came in the interactions between Alex, the pesky younger sister and instigator (a traditional younger sister role if there ever was one), Alex’s transgender girlfriend Terry, and hapless Dane, who keeps asking the wrong questions.
Transgender issues are timely topics from so-called “Bathroom Bills” introduced in various states to the recent negative social media reaction by some after Bud Light supported Trans Tik-Tok influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. And just this last weekend SNL’s first non-binary cast member made a strong statement of support for medical availability for trans kids. So, little by little, transgender topics are becoming mainstream and this play might help move some conversations forward.
Jeff Goode is an Award-winning Los Angeles-based playwright and screenwriter who has written over fifty plays, musicals, and children’s shows and has worked on a number of television pilots. He wrote the cult hit THE EIGHT REINDEER MONOLOGUES and is the creator of Disney’s AMERICAN DRAGON: JAKE LONG. The point is, he’s a pro and he can certainly pack a lot into 90 minutes. So, for a fun night out, I’d recommend FURSONA NON GRATA.
Lead image: FURSONA NON GRATA cast Susan King, Clara Tan, Madison Sedlor, Andrew J. Brown, Dan Torres, Kaylie Horowitz
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!
