Refuge
- May 17, 2020
- 2 min read
★★★☆☆
My brother is the marketing director of the Unicorn Theatre. For the past several seasons, their creative has been handled by a local agency who, in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, said they were barely hanging on and would have to pass on the upcoming season. My brother asked me if I was interested, and I said I was—this is a dream assignment that’s been on my wishlist for years. Of course, as part of the process, I have to read the plays, and so I have been. I love going to the theatre but I’ve never read a lot of plays (not unusual, I’m sure), so this has been a relatively novel experience for me. In any case, at the conclusion of reading each play, I’ve dashed off initial impressions via text to my brother. For these plays, unlike my more measured, more thoughtful book reviews, I’ll be using those slapdash messages.
I have to be the least qualified person to judge a musical based on a script. That said, without the veneer of potentially excellent music and the distraction of singing as a way to artificially electrify the vibe, Refuge is an understated and simple story. It’s low on drama, low on punch, low on arc … it’s unassuming and barren, a little like the desert, and, like the desert, it’s pleasures are subtle and not for everyone. I liked it but felt like it could have tried a little harder to say something new. To challenge. It reminds me of quiet, unassuming indie films, especially the kind that were de rigueur during my college years. Those, of course, hinged on the vibe and the performances and I suspect this play’s success, more than the others will, too.
P.S. I hope the music sounds like Calexico.
To which my brother replied, “I agree with you about Refuge. We were supposed to have a couple of workshops with the writers, but then the shit hit the fan. I have no idea what the music sounds like. But often, the music fills out the story and the vibe and makes for a more full production. We’ll see.”
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