Jordan Wright
May 3, 2016
Special to The Alexandria Times
Nehal Joshi as Amir, with Joe Isenberg, Felicia Curry and Ivy Vahanian, in Disgraced at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, April 22-May 29, 2016. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
A cruel wind descended onto the stage in the Kreeger Theatre with Disgraced. It swept over five intimately connected characters, unmasking their prejudices and ripping their psyches to smithereens. It left Emily, Amir, Abe, Isaac and Jory and their harmonic one-world aspirations in its wake. Upsetting friendships and loyalties, the play is about our words as much as our actions and it made me long for a sequel.
Playwright Ayad Akhtar doesn’t hold out much hope for us humans, not even for educated, sophisticated, liberal New Yorkers where his drama is set. He forces us to examine the roots of our bigotry by drawing it to the surface and exposing its presumptions. Who do we become when we are offended by someone of another race? How superficial or deeply held are our personal relationships, our loyalties to one another, our religious beliefs? In this play we see how flimsy are the underpinnings, how vulnerable we all are, and how quickly we descend into hatred and fear with an insensitive remark or ill-considered assumption. Our emotions and frustrations are not so very far beneath the surface, Akhtar seems to say.
(L to R) Nehal Joshi as Amir and Ivy Vahanian as Emily in Disgraced at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, April 22-May 29, 2016. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Emily (Ivy Vahanian) is an artist in love with Islam and its beautifully articulated symbols. She is married to Amir (Nehal Joshi), a successful New York attorney, working in a Jewish law firm. Amir has been hiding the fact that he is actually Pakistani, a dangerous admission in this post 9/11 world, and intentionally fudges his job application to promote himself as of Indian heritage. Conflicted by his Muslim heritage and married to a Christian American, he readily repudiates the 7th century precepts of the Koran and the sexism and intolerance adopted by extremist factions. But when his life and career fall apart can he truly rid himself of those early lessons of prejudice and intolerance? Can anyone?
(L to R) Samip Raval as Abe and Nehal Joshi as Amir in Disgraced at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, April 22-May 29, 2016. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Abe (Samip Raval), his nephew, is a careless youth, defiant of convention and desperate to fit into a society that has already made him an outcast. When his imam gets in trouble with the law, Emily is determined that Amir should defend him, even though her husband fears jeopardizing his position in the firm to take up the case of a man who has been labeled a terrorist.
(L to R) Joe Isenberg as Isaac and Felicia Curry as Jory in Disgraced at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, April 22-May 29, 2016. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
An ostensibly lapsed Jew, Isaac (Joe Isenberg), Emily’s agent and their mutual friend, is married to Jory (Felicia Curry), an African American attorney working alongside Amir. Isaac assures Emily her cultural appropriation of Islamic symbols in her paintings is acceptable. “Without the Arabs we wouldn’t have visual perspective,” he declares. We soon discover that what sounds rational in the abstract, does not necessarily square with one’s emotional reactions in the real world.
Director Timothy Douglas does a superb job of ramping up and cooling down the explosive revelations while still maintaining a steady pace, and Tony Cisek’s sleek mid-century modern set proves to be a deceptive distraction to the tension.
Divided into segments, the one-act play centers around a liquor-fueled dinner party among the friends, devolving into a racially-charged, rage-filled examination of our conflicting beliefs – where they come from, how deeply ingrained they are in our psyches, and if we have the ability, or desire, to overcome the prejudices and precepts of religion in modern society.
Intense both emotionally and politically, it raises our consciousness to the complex issues facing society today. And that’s a good thing. Flawless performances all around.
Through May 29th at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.