GOOD GRIEF AT HEDGEROW

Review by Neal Newman

February 10. 2023

GOOD GRIEF at Hedgerow Theatre is a beautifully written play. Ngozi Anyanwu has created a penetrating and powerful study of grief, recovery, family, and the awkwardness of growing up. It’s also about much more than that too. The lead character is named N. The name is Nkechi, but her Bucks County friends can’t pronounce that. She’s an upwardly mobile medical student who is “friends” with MJ, an attractive and likable slacker. They have no idea about their years-long relationship; are they best friends or soon-to-be lovers? Is he the love of her life? This is shattered when MJ is killed in an auto accident, and N cannot cope with grief. She becomes a different person who is melancholy and powerless to face life. Her helpless parents (immigrants from Nigeria) try to intervene but to no avail. 

Anyanwu is a poet and playwright, as N’s lengthy speeches demonstrate. In a memorable scene when her father tries to teach his daughter to drive, he keeps telling her, “Let’s go.” She answers, “I want to stop. To stop time.”

The author demonstrates special skills in the handling of memory.  Memories are not consecutive, nor can they be especially truthful to reality.  Anyanwu tells her story in 18 short nonconsecutive scenes that take place between 1992 and 2006.  In some of these, N and MJ are children delighting in Pac-Man, while others take place in the teen years, not to mention the present and beyond.  Since many of these memories cannot be precise, N will sometimes address the audience, saying, “That’s the way it SHOULD have been.”  This college dropout will obviously become a writer, and indeed playwright Anyanwu created the role N in New York.

This is demanding of the audience. The program lists all the scenes and clearly outlines which are memories. Keep it close by to avoid confusion.   

Hedgerow has a small stage, so this brainchild challenges the designers. Most successful is the sound design of Jarious Parker with musician/soundscaper Karen Smith.)  They have devised an exciting concentration of tinkling bells, horrific crashes, African drums, and period-setting pop music selections. The playwright indicates that nearly all of the scenes take place at night. Lighting designer Will Lowery forges some striking images that visually emphasize memory, but eventually, there is a flatness to the long evening. Scenic Designer James Johnson has created a functional black box set that does not supply a visual counterpoint to Anyanwu’s striking dialogue. The costumes by Tiffany Bacon add some flair, especially when the memories visit Africa.

The cast, directed by Zuhairah McGill and Phillip Brown, could not be bettered. N, played by Morgan Charece Hall, is constantly onstage and at the center of every moment. She must portray an elementary school student, a blossoming teen, and an older but not wiser woman. In one scene, at age fifteen, she asks MJ to kiss her, but only to give her some “experience” when she approaches her high school crush, JD (James Ofalt), who is a gorgeous white charmer in the Dick Clark/Pat Boone mode. She pulls it off with beauty and charm. Ronnie Riggles has a strong scene getting high with N. All the actors take full advantage of the author’s ability to lighten the mood with crisp wit and a rare ability to convey deep love and commitment in very few words. McGill and Brown also act in the production and bring humor and complexity to the Nigerian parents, who also bring African costumes, dialect and proverbs to the proceedings. Dell Jackson as MJ equals Ms. Hall in charm, and their many different scenes feature irresistible chemistry.

There is one fundamental problem with the production, which will hopefully resolve as performances continue. The program indicates a running time of ninety minutes, but it is actually two hours. The actors are allowed to explore the profound depth of their inner life, but the directors must also attend to the pacing and dramatic build. The scenes lack rhythm and shape, so the evening has a meandering quality that could easily be remedied with tightening.

Opening night’s packed house cheered and laughed exuberantly. After all, it’s quite a play.

Running Time:  Two hours with no intermission.

GOOD GRIEF runs through February 26, 2023, at Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Road, Media, PA. For tickets: hedgerowtheatre.org or 610-565-4211.