Review: In The Swim of Things—the ripple, the wave that carried me home at People’s Light

By Ellen Wilson Dilks

Malvern’s People’s Light is starting off 2024 with a Regional Premiere of the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christine Anderson. It is playing now through March 24^th, 2024 on the Company’s Leonard C. Haas Mainstage.   Performance times vary, so check the website for details—as well as info on several additional events centered around this production’s subject matter.

A Kansas native, Ms. Anderson was 2022 Tony nominee for the book to the musical Paradise Square. She has also written for film and TV.  Commissioned by Berkeley Rep in California, the ripple, the wave that carried me home made its world premiere there on October 1, 2021. Subsequent productions include Oregon’s Portland Center Stage, Goodman Theatre in Chicago and the Yale Repertory Theatre.

Anderson’s work deals with one family’s efforts to desegregate the public swimming pools in Beacon, Kansas.  The many indignities heaped upon Blacks in the pre-Civil Rights Act era are also briefly touched upon.  As the story jumps to 1992—against the backdrop of the Rodney King verdict/LA Riots—the play explores the now-adult daughter’s distance from her family.  She’s proud of her parents, but feels her upbringing took a back seat to her parents’ activism.

On the technical side, the production is visually intriguing.  As I sat in the house prior to curtain I watched the lighting effect that looked like rippling water shimmer across the set’s walls of varying shades of blue.  And when the lights came up at the top of the show, I was surprised at the additional elements that were revealed.  This well-thought-out space was the work of set designer Sara Ryung Clement.  Adding to the overall look are the projections created by Rasean Davonté Johnson—who has also created the soundscape.  Amina Alexander’s lighting designer also enhances the production perfectly, while Jerrilyn Duckworth costumes everyone beautifully, evoking the various time periods in the story.

Director Donya K. Washington shows a love of the material, and her cast of four projects the emotions well. But—I could not hear almost half of the dialogue.  When things were intense or intimate, the actors’ volume dropped way down.  I found myself straining to hear.  And I was not the only one. I was sitting about halfway back in the center section; at the end of the 100-minute production, I asked the ladies I had chatted with prior to curtain if they had heard everything.  They admitted they had not.  Patrese D. McClain (as Janice), Eunice Woods (as Helen), Nathan M. Ramsey (as Edwin) and Shauna Miles (as Gayle and Young Chipper) are talented actors—what I did hear was well performed—but they either need to project better or be miked.

 

My take away from the piece was whether fighting for the greater good can often take too much of a toll on one’s personal life.  And how do you balance standing up for what’s right and just with giving those you love the time and attention they deserve.

WHEN YOU GO: the ripple, the wave that brought me home runs now through March 24^th on the Leonard C. Haas Stage at People’s Light—39 Conestoga Road (Route 401), Malvern, PA 19355. Performances are Tuesdays thru Sundays at varying times—check the website.  The running time is 100 minutes—with NO intermission.  Recommended for ages 12 and up.

There are a number of panel discussions and other special events scheduled during the run. Information on these is available at www.peopleslight.org

People’s Light is fully handicapped accessible. There is plenty of free, off-street parking and the Farmhouse Bistro serves dinners prior to curtain. For additional information and background on LETTIE, patrons can call the Box Office at 610-644-3500, or visit the company’s website at www.peopleslight.org

COVID PROTOCOLS: Masks ARE NOT REQUIRED AT THIS TIME. The CDC may change its protocols, so go prepared.