Review: A GIRL IN SCHOOL UNIFORM WALKS INTO A BAR at Reverie Theatre Group
The production runs from February 19th through March 1st at Reverie Theatre Group in Providence, RI
When the lights go out, two accidental acquaintances have no one but each other to share the horrific experience — a bartender who knows more than she’s willing to reveal, and a teenager in a school uniform. An unlikely visitor at a bar that no longer has visitors, let alone regulars.
Their unlikely alliance helps them to survive the night and play out multiple scenarios of how they go about seeking the missing woman. Not the one who initially brought them together — the other one.
Steph (played by Madaline Brown), who walks into the bar wearing a school uniform, just like the missing girl, is tentative at first, ready to accept the comfortable story about her best friend who disappeared in one of the blackouts a few weeks ago. As the night progresses, forced to dive deep into her motivations and loyalties, Steph is finally ready to hear the rough and disturbing truth of her friend’s disappearance.
Bell, the bartender, hardened by a tough life and played by Emma Dunlop harbors a secret she’s determined to keep. The unwelcoming and indifferent exterior hides a wounded soul. She asks tough questions over and over, and over again until she gets an answer.
As stress levels rise and the blackout continues, their coping mechanisms kick in. Gritting on each other's nerves, Bell and Steph made the audience realize they share more than just a gender identity. Gasps of surprise ripple through the theater as the lights go on and off.
Beyond the raw humor and a duel of carelessly dropped words, the two women are sheltered from the violence undoubtedly unfolding beyond the bolted doors of the empty bar.
Directed by Riley Nedder, A Girl in School Uniform Walks into a Bar makes us observers of an 80-minute conversation that raises more questions than it answers. When the lights come back on, the message remains unspoken but rings loud and clear — violence against women is real, and it needs to be confronted with resistance, and together.
Photo credit: David Cantelli Photography
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