Review: 'Feeding the Dragon' at Hartford Stage

Photos of Sharon Washington by T. Charles Erickson

Hartford, CT - ‘Feeding the Dragon’ is a powerful solo play written and performed by stage and screen actress Sharon Washington. The play, a co-production with Primary Stages which made its world premiere at City Theatre in Pittsburgh in 2016, was directed by Maria Mileaf. When it closes at Hartford Stage, it will have a run at the Cherry Lane Theatre in NYC.

The play with the subtitle “Her Story Speaks Volumes” is a portrait of Ms. Washington’s life as a child and young woman in New York. What makes her story unique is that the actress grew up in the custodial apartment on the top floor of a New York Public Library where her father worked both day and night maintaining the fiery furnace that heated the large building. The title makes reference to feeding the large furnace that resembled a dragon, but also could be inferred to refer to the playwright’s lifelong love of the written word and a willingness to forgive that helped her slay dragons of many forms in her life.

“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tells us that dragons can be beaten.” - a quote from Neil Gaiman that resonates with Ms. Washington

While the memories certainly include the fairy tale aspects of living in a library and having unlimited access to its contents, Ms. Washington does not shy away from the reality of growing up in New York in the 1970s when times were still changing. She calls this the “flipside” of the fairy tale - the dark side and they come out in time throughout the play.

Many key memories of her childhood are brought to life with the actress playing almost 20 characters, including all of the members of her family as well as two Jewish neighbors. These characterizations may have been subtle, but I found them very easy to follow. The vignettes were interspersed with some exposition and commentary and for me, they flowed well. I got so wrapped up in the outstanding storytelling that the ninety minutes without intermission flew by.

Remember Melba Tolliver, the TV news reporter for WABC on what was then called Channel 7 News? I do, but I never knew that she was told when she changed her hair to a natural that she couldn’t appear live in the studio with her hair unstraightened. Ms. Tolliver refused to straighten her hair anymore, and finally, after the pressure of some publicity about their mandate, the station relented and permitted her to appear on the air with her hair as she wished it to be. This was something I learned as a result of attending ‘Feeding the Dragon,’ but there were other references to the era that broke the fourth wall and brought back some fond memories.

Ms. Washington, who holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama, has acted for almost 30 years and her experience shows in her performance. I heard one patron in the lobby call her “an excellent storyteller” and her onstage presence was a mix of charm and grace. For most of the matinee performance, I felt like she was just telling her story to me in a beautifully lit library.
Sharon Washington’s last performance at Hartford Stage was in ‘Digging Eleven.’ On Broadway she appeared in Kander and Ebb’s final collaboration,‘The Scottsboro Boys’ in the role of “The Lady.” She will be seen in the upcoming feature film ‘On the Basis of Sex’ (2018) starring Felicity Jones and directed by Mimi Leder.

The sets at Hartford Stage are always impressive, but this one designed by Tony Ferrieri (in his Hartford Stage debut) raised the bar. The library featured colorful book-lined steps bookended by card catalogue drawers (remember those?) backed by four magical windows; the lighting designed by Ann Wrightson (‘Souvenir’ and ‘August: Osage County’ on Broadway) is difficult to describe but was a stellar example of creativity. Costumes by Toni-Leslie James (‘Come From Away,’ ‘Amazing Grace’) were fine and the bits of original music and sound design by Lindsay Jones added a nice touch to various sections of the narrative. Robert H. Davis (‘Queens for a Year’ at Hartford Stage) served as the dialect coach.
The upstairs lobby of Hartford Stage featured a display of titles that inspired the playwright, Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Hartford community leaders. The theatre recently entered into two community partnerships, one with the Hartford Public Library.

‘Feeding the Dragon’ is a strong writing debut for this multi-talented playwright who also does fine work onstage as she brings it to life. The Hartford Stage production runs through Feb. 4.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and 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. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417