An offbeat stranger’s sudden arrival via tornado smack dab in the middle of “the most boring place in the world” sets in motion a series of events destined to transform the lives of a plucky Midwest teen and her fellow Indiana townsfolk in Jim Leonard’s Anatomy of Gray, the simply marvelous latest from Open Fist Theatre Company.

Having recently lost her beloved father, fifteen-year-old June Muldoon (Erica Mae McNeal) has but one wish for the town of Gray, Indiana, and that is for a healer to show up and ensure that “nobody will ever die again” … and lo and behold, who should be blown into town but Galen P. Gray, MD (Jeremy Guskin).

It doesn’t take long for folks to start lining up at Dr. Gray’s door with assorted ailments, and despite a pronounced aversion to blood, in all other ways Galen is precisely the miracle man June has prayed for, an opinion shared (at least at first) by June’s widowed mother Rebekah (Martha Demson), blacksmith Crutch Collins (James Fowler) and his wife Belva (Rosie Byrne), town preacher Phineas Wingfield (Alexander Wells), Reverend Wingfield’s spinster sister Tiny (Lane Allison), and tavern owner Maggie (Debba Rofheart).

Things begin to change, however, when “marks” start appearing on certain townspeople, and when some of them fall deathly ill, suspicions arise that the heretofore esteemed Dr. Gray just might be the cause of all this suffering and death.

Though set about a hundred years before the AIDS epidemic inspired Leonard to put pen to paper in the early 2000s, this “children’s story for adults” rings particularly true in today’s “post-pandemic” world.

Add to that a woman contemplating the then unthinkable (an abortion), an African-American making a life for himself in middle America (a savvy bit of color-conscious casting), a town populated at least in part by modern medicine deniers (how dare the doctor propose desecrating a dead body for something called an “autopsy”), and a mob mentality that prompts heretofore decent citizens to consider running Galen out of town, and you’ve got an unexpectedly relevant period piece, directed by Ben Martin with just a hint of magic realism (and more than a bit of magic) and performed with abundant folksy appeal by an ensemble of actors who, with two exceptions, share their roles with performers not reviewed here.

McNeal makes for the most enchanting of plucky young heroines, Demson is homespun perfection as a grieving widow who just might have new life growing within her, Fowler does powerhouse work as roughly-hewn man of color Crutch, and Alex Hogy is a bona fide charmer as peppy town teen Homer.

Wells makes for an imposing Pastor Wingfield, Allison is a quirky delight as his still, still, still single sister, and Byrne and Rofheart leave strong impressions too as Belva and Maggie.

Most memorably of all, offbeat charmer Guskin invests Galen with a mix of intelligence and eccentricities that proves downright irresistible.

Though Anatomy Of Gray could easily be staged, per playwright Leonard’s suggestion, with nothing more than a bench, a stool, and a chair, scenic designer Jan Monroe takes things a bit farther than that while still keeping things deliberately spare, with scenic artist Stephanie Crothers’s exquisitely painted backdrop depicting the stark beauty of the Indiana plains.

Mylette Nora’s weathered period wear, Gavan Wyrick’s vibrant lighting, Marc Antonio Pritchett’s evocative sound design, and Ina Shumaker and Bruce Dickinson’s farming community-specific props complete a simple but effective production design.

Joe Garcia, Mary Jo Kirwan, Caleb Petre, Rebekah Paugam, Alina Phelan, and Beth Robbins alternate with actors reviewed here.

John Dimitri is production stage manager. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

Had I not ended up seeing Anatomy Of Gray’s next-to-last performance, I’d be advising you to head on over to Atwater Village sometime in the coming weeks to check out this West Coast Premiere. As is, those fortunate enough to have caught it earlier in its run will likely concur. Anatomy Of Gray is a mystical, magical winner.

Open Fist Theatre Company @ Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village.
www.openfist.org

–Steven Stanley
January 20, 2023
Photos: Frank Ishman

Tags: Jim Leonard, Los Angeles Theater Review, Open Fist Theatre Company