I must confess that Our Dear Dead Drug Lord by Alexis Scheer is not a play I would ever choose.
It is well-written, funny, thought-provoking and shocking, but it is also a challenging play for those of us who knew profound tragedy before our 18th birthday and for people who like cats (don’t ask).
That said, director Serena Elize Flores has assembled a magnificent cast to tell Scheer’s unsettling story. The Left Edge Theatre production runs at The California in Santa Rosa through Nov. 9.
The members of the Dead Leaders Club, which has recently been banned at their private Miami school, have assembled in the old treehouse of their leader, Pipe (Reilly Milton), to summon the spirit of their current icon, Pablo Escobar. They are also initiating a new member, Kit (Lauren DePass), to replace “old Kit,” whose disappearance is tied to the same tragedy that haunts Pipe.
Club member Squeeze (Lexus Fletcher) has her own reasons for being interested in the spirit world, and youngest member Zoom (Katalina Motley), though a non-believer in the supernatural, soon learns that playing with spirits can have far-reaching effects.
Fletcher and Motley bound onto the stage in the first scene and never stop to catch a breath all the way through. Both have unflagging energy and stage presence to spare. They play off of each other well, and the bond between their characters is instantly believable. Of particular note is Motley’s vulnerability on stage. Without giving away too much, Motley’s vulnerability grounds the ending in empathy instead of shock.
On opening night, Milton and DePass, however, took a bit to settle into the characters. This resulted in moments from the first scene that are supposed to be tension-filled reading like slow pacing. However, whatever opening night jitters impacted their performances soon passed, and both found grounded truth in the complicated characters they portrayed.
The set by Argo Thompson is amazing, especially in The California’s notoriously tricky layout. It, coupled with props by Flores and lights by Ryan Severt, grounded the play’s magical realism into our world.
This is an excellent production that comes with a strong note of caution. It is a traumatizing script. It speaks genuinely to tragedy’s complicated mess of emotions. Its characters are a chaotic mix of hubris, naivety, cruelty and compassion.
Like the years between 13 and 18 of every girl’s life, it is not for the squeamish.Left Edge Theatre’s ‘Our Dear Dead Drug Lord’ runs through Nov. 9 at The California Theatre. 528 7th St., Santa Rosa. Wed – Fri, 7:30pm; Sat, 1pm. $25–$35. 707.664.7529. leftedgetheatre.com.
