ORLANDO — It’s been a long time — maybe not since the movie Citizen Kane — since a snow globe played such a key role in the plot of a dramatic piece. And a snow globe is certainly used in a unique and unpredictable way in Welcome To Matteson, an edgy comedy-drama that just opened at the Orlando Shakes, and runs through Saturday, March 29.
The 90-minute play by Inda Craig-Galvan is about racial tensions in a home in Matteson, a suburb of Chicago. But there are no white folks in sight. Patricia and Gerald have lived in the suburban community for years, and decided to invite their new neighbors, Regina and Corey, over for dinner as a way to welcome them into the neighborhood. Sounds very pleasant and neighborly, right?
Oh, and it’s a brutally cold night. It starts snowing just as Regina and Corey arrive.
But don’t worry about the cold outside. Things start to heat up very quickly inside that house.
Welcome To Matteson, which had a staged reading as part of Orlando Shakes’ Playfest 2020, gets a full run with a superb cast that demonstrates masterful skill at characterization and comedic timing, and you’ll get a kick out of some creative visual effects that play a particularly important role toward the end of the show.
What is the play Welcome To Matteson?
Craig-Galvan’s play, which is being performed in the Shakes’ Goldman Theater, has two African-American couples preparing to enjoy a dinner together — or, are they? Tensions start building almost immediately, especially since Patricia and Regina don’t initially hit it off.
Patricia is nervous about the chicken she’s got cooking in the oven, and she can’t stop pouring another glass of wine to calm her nerves. Regina instinctively picks up that their hosts are more uncomfortable than they’re willing to admit. The class differences between the two couples may be a key to that.
While Patricia and Gerald have lived in her fine suburban home for over a decade, Regina and Corey were just relocated by the City of Chicago from Cabrini–Green, a public housing project that would eventually become synonymous with crime, violence, rat infestations, and urban decay. When the city eventually demolished the apartment complex, its residents were relocated to suburbs like Matteson.
And some of the tension at the dinner table starts brewing when Patricia makes it clear how much disdain she has for a complex like Cabrini-Green, and its reputation for urban violence.
Regina and Corey look at it differently. They had friends, family, church and a way of life at Cabrini-Green. The much-hyped violence was happening outside, Regina says, not inside their home. They actually feel less secure in a mostly white suburban community where somebody stuck a flyer on their door, urging them to get out.
The two couples, it seems, don’t have a lot in common.
And that would be a major understatement.
This edgy, sometimes uncomfortable story builds toward a surprise twist — and then takes a sharp turn toward a metaphorical ending that, technically speaking, makes perfect sense. But it’s unlikely you’ll see it coming, even if you do remember that it’s snowing heavily right outside their door.
How is the Orlando Shakes Production?
The play gets a truly first-rate production, thanks to the direction by Roberta Emerson, who takes her time letting those tensions simmer and the anger boil quite slowly. At times it’s like four polite attack dogs seated at a table, trying to stay on their best behavior. The question is who is going to bite first.
The cast couldn’t be better. Keri Hollingsworth and Walter Riddle expertly portray the sassy Regina and the more laid back Corey, who pick up every uncomfortable vibe their hosts give off — and they’re especially hilarious as they sample Patricia’s painfully under-cooked chicken. Their roles are perfectly written and Hollingsworth and Riddle get into their characters beautifully.
In a sense, both Dayja Le’Chelle as the uptight Patricia and Christopher James Murray as her calming husband Gerald have the more challenging roles, especially as their dark secrets slowly emerge. They begin as two people simply eager to be good hosts. That’s not how they end up. And both actors make the transition masterfully.
Kudos as well for the visual effects that include the snow falling — you can practically feel the frigid cold outside as the dinner guests all start to complain about how the furnace isn’t working and its getting colder inside the house. How right they are.
Where Can I See Welcome To Matteson?
Welcome To Matteson is being performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E. Rollins St. in Loch Haven Park. The show, which is 90 minutes long with no intermission, is being performed in the Goldman Theater. The production runs through Saturday, March 29.
For tickets, call the Box Office at 407-447-1700 or visit https://www.orlandoshakes.org/show/welcome-to-matteson/
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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