A Columbia University professor reduced to teaching science in an overcrowded, underfunded Bronx high school and a Muslim-American student with dreams far loftier than her Yemeni immigrant family are likely ever to allow. From these two disparate, desperate souls, Laura Maria Censabella has written Paradise, as intelligent, thought-provoking, compelling, heartbreaking, and satisfying a two-hander as I’ve seen in a good long while.

 The last person Dr. Guy Royston (Jeff Marlow) wants to have showing up at this afternoon’s free period is yet another of his 160 students entreating him to reconsider the “big fat F” he gave her most recent biology test, and the last thing Yasmeen al-Hamadi (Medalion Rahimi) expects is for Dr. Royston to have not the slightest idea who she is, not after the countless times she’s had her hand up as her classmates’ digits have remained resolutely unraised.

Still, if there’s any of Guy’s students unlikely to take no for an answer, it’s Yasmeen, an anomaly not only for the 4.0 average she’s maintained until now but also for the headscarf and loose-fitting tunic she wears over her otherwise unremarkable t-shirt and jeans.

 And Yasmeen has good reason for wanting Guy to overlook that atypical F: the full scholarship being offered “an American girl of exceptional promise and of Middle Eastern descent” at Columbia University no less.

Not that persuading the grinchlike Dr. Royston to raise her grade is any likelier to take place than for a high school senior with only two science classes on her transcript to get accepted into Columbia, that is until Yasmeen presents Guy with a project proposal (studying the brains of teenagers in love) that just might restore a one-time Ivy League luminary’s shattered reputation.

 Playwright Censabella takes her deliberate time in revealing the reasons behind Guy’s fall from academic grace and his bitter divorce, just one reason Paradise’s Act One will have you eagerly awaiting Act Two.

There’s also the matter of Yasmeen’s religion, one to which she is fiercely devoted, but one likely to make a Columbia education and scientific career as unattainable as romantic love in a culture where arranged marriages are the norm.

 There is much to love in Paradise’s West Coast Premiere, an Odyssey Theatre guest production incisively directed by Vicangelo Bulluck, not the least of which is the fresh spin it puts on the dilemma faced by the U.S.-raised children of immigrant parents whose old-country customs and values conflict with those of their host country.

Paradise’s even-handed look at Islam merits praise as well. Yasmeen’s faith is both sincere and well thought-out, and her insistence that “women are the equal of men” comes directly from the Quran, yet any major life decisions will require the approval of her husband-to-be. (Then again, the Virginia-born-and-bred Guy’s own experience with hellfire-and-brimstone Christianity make him hardly the most unbiased of observers.)

 Finally, when was the last time you saw a play in which not just science but the love of science played such a major part?

SoCal stage treasure Marlow adds yet another superb performance to his lengthy resumé as the angry, wounded, defiant Guy and radiant newcomer Rahimi is a major find, i.e., expect to be seeing much more of the Iranian-American L.A. native.

 Paradise looks absolutely terrific on Jeff Rowlings’ spot-on high school science classroom set. (Kudos to running crew members Sean Fawaz and Zack Roosa for some razor-sharp between-scenes adjustments of Jenine MacDonald’s just-right properties.)

Sound designer Jon Gottlieb servs up a terrific hip-hop-meets-Middle East sound design and some ambience-establishing effects.

Rowlings’ lighting design is equally expert, and costume designer Mylette Nora gives Yasmeen an array of colorfully stylish head scarves and Guy appropriate teacher-wear. Choreographer Andrew Joseph Perez merits snaps as well for Guy’s groovy “Layla” dance.

 Peter J. Kuo is assistant director. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and casting associate Richie Ferris, CSA. MacDonald is stage manager.

Paradise is produced by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon for JuVee Productions and American Oasis. Nawal Bengholam is associate producer. Davis, Tennon, and John Cappetta are executive producers. Racquel Lehrman, Theatre Planners is general manager.

Keeping suspense high while avoiding potential pitfalls every step of the way, Paradise is the kind of two-hander that deserves national attention. L.A. audiences can count themselves fortunate to be the first on the West Coast to reap its many rewards.

Odyssey Theatre, 2055 South Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles.
www.Plays411.com/Paradise

–Steven Stanley
January 26, 2019
Photos: Ed Krieger

Tags: Laura Maria Censabella, Los Angeles Theater Review, Odyssey Theatre