BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA


A lifetime of failed opportunities to connect weighs heavy on the hearts of the father-daughter protagonists of Anna Ouyang Moench’s haunting Birds Of North America, exquisitely acted by Arye Gross and Jacqueline Misaye at the Odyssey Theatre.

Indeed, the only thing John and Caitlyn have in common may be birding, a hobby the 60ish scientist introduces to his 20something daughter in the first of ten scenes unfolding over the course of ten years beginning in the mid-2000s.

Not that things get off on the right foot at John and Caitlyn’s first early-morning excursion, John expressing misgivings about his daughter’s latest boyfriend, the motorcycle-riding ex-soldier Blaze. (Seriously, he wonders, what kind of name is Blaze?)

Better to change the subject to owls, whose ability to fly silently (for reasons John describes in perhaps more detail than any non-birder needs to know) makes them the perfect bird of prey.

Better to discuss the ongoing clinical trial of a drug John is developing in hopes of eradicating dengue fever.

Better not to bring up the lack of progress Caitlyn is making on her novel. Better not to get into the rightwing politics of the website where Caitlyn works as a proofreader. Better to avoid talking about those bird-and-mammal-killing feral cats. (“People should be setting out poison, not food,” John opines to Cailyn’s dismay.)

In other words, if ever there was a father-daughter relationship in need of improvement, it’s these two’s.

And though each would probably wish things otherwise, there’s no denying that as the years pass, as Jackie goes from one romantic partner to another, as father and daughter’s drastically different lifestyles and core beliefs continue to drive a wedge between them, and as climate change alters the migration patterns of the birds they’re out watching, what we have here is the proverbial failure of a father and daughter to communicate.

Eschewing hearts-and-flowers sentimentality and easy happily-ever-afters, Birds Of North America makes it clear that playwright Moench’s previous L.A. hit (East West Players’ and the Geffen Playhouse’s Man Of God) was no fluke.

And with director Peter Richards eliciting a pair of absolutely exquisite performances from Gross and Misaye, I found myself invested from start to finish in John and Caitlyn’s relationship as I pieced together clues as to what had transpired between scenes. (Blaze out, Scott in, engagement ring on, engagement ring off.)

It’s heart-touching, heartbreaking stuff, and an absolute joy to watch Gross’s grizzled, grouchy John and Misaye’s vibrant, vulnerable Caitlyn evoke a lifetime of missed connections to indelible effect.

Lighting designer Scott Bolman bathes scenic designer Mark Guirguis’s autumnal-hued, fallen leaves-strewn set in fall-evoking tones, Lena Sands’ character-apt costumes effectively signal the passage of yet another year, and Jenine MacDonald’s just-right props include binoculars, a birder’s notebook, and lots and lots of fallen foliage.

I’m guessing too that Costandina J. Daros has come up with a sound design every bit as effective as the rest only a technical malfunction on opening night hadn’t reduced it to scattered bird tweets. (It’s to everyone’s credit that the production worked even without its intended soundscape.)

Birds Of North America is produced for the Odyssey by Beth Hogan. Beth Mack is stage manager.

Both a powerful showcase for a gifted young playwright and a chance to see two of our busiest stage actors doing some of their finest work to date, the Los Angeles Premiere of Birds Of North America does Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and its entire creative team proud.

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 South Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles.
www.odysseytheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
September 23, 2023
Photos: Jenny Graham

 

Tags: , ,

Comments are closed.