A Play that Serves as a Reminder to be in the Now-
Life is full of simple pleasures, and, paradoxically, said pleasures are often overlooked by the ongoing mental and physical alienation that the daily hustle brings, along with work, the search for financial stability, emotional and mental stability, and so on.
MOXIE theatre’s season closer, The Counter by Meghan Kennedy, delicately dissects the dynamic of two people at different stages of life who meet in the middle. Katie (Kate Rose Reynolds) is a transplant from the city and has been satisfied with her new life in a small town. Paul (Mark Stevens), a creature of habit, takes his coffee from Monday to Saturday at the diner where Katie works. The monosyllable conversations grew as each day went by, and sharing information became a practice until one day, Paul shared a goal that did not sit well with Katie. Things get more interesting when the town doctor, Peg (Kara Tuckfield), comes to the diner to satisfy a craving and gets more than warm coffee cake.
Colby Freel’s lighting design is pure poetry. Featuring blind reflections on the diner floor and timed yellow and orange sunsets. It is beautiful and the perfect mood setter that goes beyond the stage and even makes audiences feel the chilly weather in the plot.
Julie Lorenz’s detailed and realistic scenic design of a traditional run-down dinner is complemented by Zoe Agpaoa’s props of sugar cubes, donuts, coffee cups, and coffee pots—plenty of them—and real coffee brewed throughout the play, decaf and all.
With this, I ask, what happens with all that coffee? Was this a note in the script? Or a conscious decision by MOXIE’s executive artistic director, Desireé Clarke Miller, who directed the piece?
Either way, the vibe was there. I could appreciate not only Desireé’s directorial hand but Kaylin Saur’s as assistant director as well. I recognize those transitions, and it does take a while to adjust to the play’s rhythm, but then it makes sense because the whole thing is poetic.
Lovely to see Kate Rose Reynolds back on the boards, delivering the guarded complexity of Katie while sharing an incredible synergy with Mark Stevens, who gave intention and tenderness with a marked, paced choreography when coming in to the diner, taking his jacket off and putting it in the rack, almost claiming this tacit melody accompanying the movement.
Janelle Arnold’s costume design complemented the character’s layers by adding to the movement and intention. Eliza Vedar’s sound completed the routines of coming in and going out by adding win and hollowness to each moment.
Both actors showed a dynamic onstage partnership. Meghan Kennedy created these characters that peel layer after layer while unfolding the story. Kara Tuckfield’s brief participation gives the diner a 180-degree momentum that dropped my jaw to the floor.
The Counter is a one-act play with a story that has aftereffects, lingering in your heart and mind long after the play ends. It stays with you, resonating deeply in both your soul and thoughts.
Currently playing until June 1. For more information, please click HERE.
The stage manager for The Counter is Megan Aguilar-Ames, and Cynthia Bloodgood is the technical director.
