Review: 'Native Gardens' at The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts

BROOKFIELD, CT - It felt so good to head to The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts and sit in my usual seat front row house right to experience a play in this cozy venue.

While the theatre did produce many virtual productions and limited shows, as well as the annual Paddy Awards, their first live show is “Native Gardens” by Karen Zacarias.

This first live production was directed by Terry Sagedy, assisted by Stacey Snyder and produced by Sarah Denn.

The play is set in current day Washington, D.C. and tells the story of Pablo, a high-powered lawyer, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, who are realizing the American dream when they purchase a house next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank. But a disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement.

The hilarious results guarantee no one comes out smelling like a rose.

Ian Arbues (“Frost/Nixon,” “Damn Yankees) plays Pablo DelValle, the up and coming lawyer of Chilean descent, who is striving to become a partner at his high powered firm. The actor brings an authentic accent to the role. Andrea Flores, a Spanish teacher in real life, appears as his brainy and tree-hugging wife in her TBTA debut.

The two actors portraying the older (but not elderly) couple next door give excellent performances. Laurel Lettieri completely embodies her role of Virginia Butley and Ron Malyszka (“The Lion in Winter,” “Tuesdays with Morie”) is perfectly cast as her husband Frank. I was so glad that my seat was on this couple’s side of the onstage fence, so that I had a close up view of the fine acting.

Two young men, Miles Snyder and Ben Wallin play the garden crew that the DelValles hire.

I enjoyed the writing of the work by Ms. Zacarías and I felt lucky that I was able to appreciate most of the lines in Spanish. The story has many funny moments but it also explores some issues of race relations and privilege. I liked the sections of the script that had the characters addressing the audience directly, especially the epilogue that almost too neatly tells what happens next.

An interesting added theme is whether gardeners should include plants that are not “native” to the area in which they are planting or instead be mindful of the environment and plant a “native garden.” Tania, of course, defends the latter, while Frank takes a more traditional path with the second-prize-winning garden in his yard.

The preshow incidental music includes a contemporary recording of “America the Beautiful” and “Oh Very Young” and “Father and Son” by one of my favorite musical artists formerly known as Cat Stevens. I bristled slightly when the older couple included his name on the same list as smoking of things not good for us, but I must admit that I laughed anyway.

Kudos to the set designer/construction Andrew Okell on bringing Frank’s garden to beautiful life on the stage. He worked with Emma Okell, Lou Okell and Terry Sagedy on the decoration and construction of this memorable set. Rebecca Pokorski’s costumes fit the style of the characters and the several maternity ensembles were especially flattering. At the matinee I attended there were a few issues with props, especially with one wooden lawn chair that brought smiles to everyone, even the cast members. Lou Okell, the TBTA 2009 Volunteer of the Year, was in charge of the lighting and sound design.

Playwright Karen Zacarías was recently hailed by American Theatre Magazine as one of the ten most-produced playwrights in the US. She is the author of ten renowned TYA musicals (including Ella Enchanted: The Musical) and the librettist of several ballets.
She is one of the inaugural resident playwrights at Arena Stage, a core founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons – a large national organization of artists seeking to update the American narrative with the stories of Latinos – and she is the founder of the award-winning Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT).

TBTA is taking every precaution possible for the safety of their patrons, including re-evaluating their cleaning and ventilation. Tickets are limited so patrons can leave space between seats and they recommend wearing masks indoors.

Volunteer of the Year Emma Okell was honored at the Paddy Awards for all of her help with the virtual shows during the pandemic lockdown.

Just 3 more shows left: Fri & Sat at 8pm and Sun at 2pm. Tickets at https://BrookfieldTheatre.org

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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