Inda Craig-Galván weaves the perfect Autumn tale when an upwardly mobile couple welcomes new neighbors with a dinner party. Sounds simple on the surface, but there is a cold current in the warm waters of welcome. You will want to watch and listen closely, there will be things you cannot un-see. Such is the world of Chicago suburban “Welcome to Matteson”.
Dawn Monique Williams directs the play, and she creates a sketch and an oil painting all at once. Chiaroscuro with a touch of Dali, we see a series of contrasts. From the moment we first meet Patricia (Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) and Gerald (De’Lon Grant), we see is a couple in love. Everything Craig-Galván has in this play is key to the plot – from the opening vignette to the decorations in Patricia and Gerald’s home. This carefully curated space that both reflects and obscures the truths behind it all. When new neighbors Regina (Maconnia Chesser) and Corey (Charlie Hudson, III) arrive, the frictive sparks that may burn the house down begin. Who let out Mrs. O’Leary’s cow…?
It is nearing Christmas and Regina and Corey have been relocated from their long-time Cabrini Green residence in Chicago, arguably the roughest housing project in that town, to the bucolic Matteson. This is the heart of suburbia, half a hundred miles from everything they’ve known. They have received housing assistance, yet there is no public transportation so they will need a car and stores close early. In addition to the culture shock, they have just received a flyer with a very ugly racist message directly in their mailbox. “Welcome to Matteson”, indeed! And now, Regina and Corey have each been reticent about meeting their neighbors and the angst is palpable.
Gerald is the perfect host, though Patricia’s flustered flutter has given him some nerves of his own. Patricia is already looking down her thin nose at their neighbors and even though both couples share similarities, she seems more like Lady Bountiful doing them a favor rather than welcoming them to the neighborhood. Listen for the subtle digs, like razor cuts that you only see when they bleed.
Gerald and Corey quickly find common ground, Patricia and Regina circle one another verbally like the Sharks and the Jets. There is the barking laughter of merriment and the rueful laughter of “did I just hear that…?”, and there are plenty of sharp gasping moments as well. When the final piece of the puzzle drops, you may disagree with your friends whether and when you saw it coming.
This show runs 90 minutes, no intermission, and it will leave you breathless. In music, there’s something called a false cadence, where you expect the resolution but it is not yet happening. In this case, imagine something tuneful punctuated by a seventh – the interval of a train horn blast. This resolves to something not quite major scale but ultimately a major development. Grant as Gerald also has a perfectly executed bit of business where he brings home that everything you see in this play is important.
Inda Craig-Galván’s “Welcome to Matteson” is post-modern existentialist brilliance and it is only playing through October 29, http://www.njrep.org/plays/matteson.htm so get your tickets now. This through-a-glass-darkly comedy with a message will spiral in your mind for some time to come, perfect for the season – a treat with a trick inside.