Something rare is happening onstage now at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble’s new Edgewater space: two girls are talking about their lives—and what they’re saying has damn little to do with boys. Or vampires.
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Laney has two strikes against her going into her new high school. She has dystonia, a neuromuscular condition that’s left her with a crooked back, and she’s an atheist in a part of the country where “Have you found a church yet?” is considered a polite conversation starter.
Maribel’s praise for Laney’s stories inspires the vulnerable newcomer to dip her toe into the waters of salvation, and also to kiss Maribel in the church sanctuary. Afterward, Laney tells secular, feminist Elise that she’s a “holiness lesbian. I believe in the power of the Holy Ghost, and I kiss girls.”
Crooked takes us around a few narrative cul-de-sacs. Laney’s fiction is initially presented, for instance, as a key thematic element, but Trieschmann’s device of having her narrate her semi-autobiographical stories mostly just reiterates plot points we’ve already learned about in different contexts. What’s more, the conclusion of the 80-minute show is too abrupt.
Through 6/23: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 3 and 8 PM, Rivendell Theatre, 5775 N. Ridge, 773-334-7728, rivendelltheatre.org, $15-$28.50.
