Arrowhead: A Complicated Weekend at the Cabin
Confusing complications of sexual identity and baffling romantic attraction abound in IAMA Theatre’s world premiere performance of Arrowhead, playing at the Atwater Village Theatre through March 4th.
Written by Catya McMullen and directed by Jenna Worsham, Arrowhead brings together seven old college pals for something more than a reunion at a Lake Arrowhead cabin like the one that the playwright says inspired this story.
We quickly learn that Gen is unexpectedly pregnant. She’s also a lesbian. As anyone would do under these circumstances, she throws a secret abortion party at a lake house with a bunch of those straight friends from college. Steamy complications ensue.
At the center of the story, Gen–adroitly played by Amielynn Abellera–struggles to understand her sexual orientation after having sex with Levi (Nate Smith), the brother of her best friend, which resulted in her unwanted pregnancy. Then, there’s her betrayals to wrestle with–both of her girlfriend, Lily (Kathleen Littlefield), who’s home building Gen a cat tree, but also of Cam (Lindsay Coryne), her best friend, who is what’s called a Gold Lesbian, or one who has never colored outside the lines and so simply cannot understand Gen’s perfidy.
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Other cast members include Stefanie Black as Stacy, Adrian Gonzalez as Brody, and Kacie Rogers as Maggie.
In the liner notes, playwright McMullen calls Arrowhead a “love letter to queerness,” and there is much commentary on the intricacies of lesbian relationships. But there’s also much to interest all audiences–above a certain age, of course–as the characters come to life as real people dealing with problems life presents us all, and not as polemical figures meant to embody certain intellectual arguments.
As we’ve found in the past, Atwater Village Theatre is an ideal venue for such an intimate look at life. Thanks to scenic designer Crolyn Marz, its cleverly designed stage allows the players to move from bathroom, to outside lawn, to dining room, and back around again, almost without a break in the 90 minutes of one-act action.
Arrowhead plays Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through March 4th. Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles. Free parking is available in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) lot one block south of the theater. For reservations and information, call 323.380.8843 or go here.
The opinions expressed here are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions or beliefs of the Hollywood Progressive.
