Let me start by saying my thoughts on this blog post have been a very conflicting process. I am the type of person who always wants to enjoy theatre. All aspects of theatre. When I go in to see a show, I want to be wowed. And most of the time…I am. But that doesn’t mean it’s always going to be that way. There are going to be shows that I don’t necessarily like. And although I’ve raved about all the shows I’ve seen over the past six months, I’m sad to say I can’t do that about Lettie.
Honestly, for as interesting as Lettie sounded on paper, I’m not sure it’s a play I would have chosen to see if I didn’t have to for work. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Not every play is for every person. But I did have to see it to write the RP guide, and I figured I could enjoy the play anyway. Sometimes it’s good trying beyond your preconceived notions. And even if I didn’t fully enjoy it, I still had a nice night at the theatre with a friend.
There was a lot that I did like about Lettie. I thought the minimal set was stunning. The acting was phenomenal, and I loved seeing each actor embody their role. Everyone did a really great job. And the directing was just as fantastic. What Abigail Adams did with this show blew me away (she’s a master, of course!) So yes, there was a lot of really enjoyable content in this show. It’s not like I was watching a train wreck, not at all.
It really took me some time to figure out what was bothering me about the show. What it ended up being for me was that I can’t say I was particularly fond of the script and the source material. Although the actors really brought the characters to life, there were a lot of times where I really feel it fell flat. There were great gems in the script that could have really be capitalized on, but they weren’t. There were things brought up that I wanted to learn more about. There were some really disappointing moments, where I didn’t get everything I wanted. And that was where I really struggled with Lettie.
Having been a part of script reading for selections in the past, I know that every theatre puts a lot of thought and work into choosing scripts for seasons. They absolutely have to be, because that’s how your theatre is represented. And of course, you really need to think about bringing in an audience. A season needs to be diverse, but all of your shows need to be able to reach an audience. Obviously not every show is going to be liked by everyone, but it still needs to reach them. I’ve seen plenty of shows that I haven’t necessarily liked, but they still reach me somehow. Lettie falls into that category.
The basic premise of Lettie is that a woman has recently been released from prison after seven years, and she wants to gain custody of her two teenage children. She’s working very hard to change her life, but it’s not easy, of course. But she still tries and tries. I’ve never been in jail, or really any imprisonment for that long, but I have spent time in mental health facilities, and I know how hard it is to change your life when you feel like you’ve been living your life in a circle. So in that respect, I definitely know what Lettie is going through. And I could really relate to Danielle Skraastad’s portrayal of the character. It was something I really loved about the character and what she was going through. This was real life.
I guess the script did give us some really wonderful characters, but I think that was more about the actors. They brought these characters to life, and I love them for that. I wanted so much more for them, though. There’s this one thing that I keep thinking about, probably my favorite moment in the play. It is (quickly) revealed that Lettie’s older child is a result from her being raped by her junkie mother’s friend. I keep thinking about that moment, over and over. It was during a fight between Lettie and her sister Carla, where Lettie was talking about everything she had been through, with Carla thinking she had it worse. It was such a fantastic moment, and could have grown into so much more. I wanted more from this. It was a bit of a bummer.
So overall, I think there were pluses and minuses to the show. It was a very powerful show, there’s absolutely no denying that. And I really felt for all the characters and the secret battles they were all powering through. I just wanted more background to that feeling. I just wanted things expanded upon. I think this show can go so far…and maybe there’s some way that it changes from theatre to theatre, but this is how I felt watching Lettie at People’s Light. I would never tell someone not to see the show, because I really feel like everyone can get something out of the play, but this is how I felt walking away from it.
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