There's a new #TCTheater holiday* tradition in town -
New Native Theatre's A Christmas in Ochopee. They're remounting their 2023 production (with some returnees and some new cast members) to see if it might become an annual tradition. This was my first time seeing the show, and I found it to be fun take on the awkward family holiday dinner. This specific story of a Native family in the Ochopee community in the Everglades of Florida tells universal truths about family - the weird uncle and his new girlfriend, the newcomer that doesn't quite fit in, family members who make mistakes in an attempt to help the family and are welcomed back in, and just being together on special occasions, whether you like it or not! Playwright Montana Cypress is from the Everglades and writes about his lived experience, brought to vivid life by the nine-person all-Native mostly local cast.
Check out this new holiday tradition at 825 Arts on University in St. Paul through December 21.
It's the mid 1980s (as signified by the stone-washed denim and references to the rookie Michael Jordan), and our story begins with Bo and Virginia Weetley (Benjamin Wilson and Keri Mabry) preparing for Christmas dinner and awaiting their guests, especially favorite son Joseph (Nathaniel TwoBears). But first to arrive is Uncle Leroy (David Valentine), a preacher, with his new girlfriend Maria (Sylvia Robertson). Then comes the surprise arrival of other son Donnie Boy (Mato Wayuhi), fresh from jail, who encounters childhood friend Summer (Shinaana Secody) and enlists her help in preparing a special dish. Which may or may not have something to do with the alligator in the backyard that Bo has been feeding since it ate his beloved dog, believing the spirit of Tiny lives inside of it. Joseph finally arrives, but with a surprise - his new fiancé Audrey (Jalisa McKee) who is White, vegan, and pregnant (it remains to be seen which of these is most shocking). All of these issues come to a head, along with Bo's gambling problem and reservation cop Officer Petey (Dallas Jennings) just looking for someone to arrest. But somehow the family makes it to the dinner table to share a holiday meal.
 |
a universal holiday tradition - watching a sports game on TV
(Keri Mabry, Mato Wayuhi, Nathaniel TwoBears, Shinaana Secody,
and Jalisa McKee, photo courtesy of New Native Theatre) |
Director Julia Rosa Sosa Chaparro directs this comedic play with a broad comedy tone, which the cast gamely commits to, but still allowing for moments of connection. The Weetley family home is well represented in 825 Arts' black box theater space - it looks cozy and homey and overflowing with festive decor. The dining room table, set for dinner, is on one side of the space, a couch on the other, and a kitchen seen behind it. There's even the reveal of a bathroom for one scene (because what awkward family dinner doesn't include a bathroom scene?). Scenes also take place on the side porch festooned with Christmas lights, and an open space on the other side representing the outdoors. In one cleverly written scene, overlapping conversations are happening between three pairs of characters in three different parts of the set. Completing the look, costumes hint at the '80s without screaming it, specific to each character. A fun and eclectic mix of Christmas songs play before and during the show. (Set design by Misha Kachman, lighting design by Andrew Vance, sound design by Mari Bogucki, and costume design by Ben Litzau.)
I'm glad I had the opportunity to spend a Christmas in Ochopee with this quirky, awkward, but ultimately loving family, and support New Native Theatre, the largest Native-led non-profit theater company in the country. Their season continues next spring with The Bird Blind, a world premiere new play written by an Alaska Native and set in an Inupiaq village.
*Click here for reviews of all of the holiday shows I've seen this year.
