Theater Review: "The Minutes" by Amity Creative Theatre

Amity Creative Theatre is only the second high school in the country to perform “The Minutes,” a play written by Tracy Letts. I was honored to be invited to attend the closing performance presented at John J. Brady Center for the Performing Arts at Amity Regional High School made possible by a generous grant from Jamie Hulley Arts Foundation.

I had no knowledge of Lett’s play before I entered the theater, allowing me to experience the work as perhaps most of the majority of the audience.

“The Minutes” is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award nominee. It is described as a “scathing new comedy about small-town politics and real-world power” that was written by the author of “August: Osage County.” Lett’s play “exposes the ugliness behind some of our most closely-held American narratives while asking each of us what we would do to keep from becoming history’s losers.”

Remember that “the smallest towns keep the biggest secrets.”

After its premiere at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, the play began previews at the James Earl Jones Theatre in New York City. It was scheduled to open in March of 2020, when production was suspended due to the pandemic. The production finally opened on (my birthday) April 17, 2022, at Studio 54, with the playwright replacing one of the actors and Jessie Mueller coming on to play the clerk.

Click to read a review of the Broadway production by my Connecticut Critics colleague Tim Leininger.

The story mixes the ugliness with the wry comedy, and the ending will probably leave many with more questions than answers. The high school performers mastered the often rapid-fire dialogue and effectively brought the eclectic group of characters to life. Kudos to the director, cast and crew for taking on the challenge of producing this multi-dimensional and powerful piece.

Amity drama educator Robert Kennedy acted as both director and producer of the brave students who make up the cast. For this is not any easy nor light piece of comedy. In fact, I doubt that some of the audience even realized that it was acceptable to laugh during the performance.

Tommy Francese did great work with the role of Mr. Peel, the council member who missed the preceding meeting due to the death of his mother. Sophie Cohen took on the role of the mayor of Big Cherry, Mayor Superba. Anna Edwards played the council’s clerk, Ms. Johnson.

Milki Ejara did well with the role of the (only) black council member, Ms. Blake. Ethan Enos took on the role of Mr. Breeding. Finn McDaniel played Mr. Hanratty and Brayden Zhang tackled the role of Mr. Assalone, constantly correcting the pronunciation of his surname. Gabbi Fabrizio aged up to portray Ms. Innes, who kept her hands busy by knitting during the meeting. Grace Saunder was a delight in the role of the somewhat ditzy Ms. Matz. David Tobin got to play the elder statesman, Mr. George Oldfield. Leyre Lopez-Perez played the role of Ms. Carp.

The action is set in the present day in a closed session of the Big Cherry Town Council, somewhere in the Middle of America. The council meeting room designed by the director/producer was constructed by the CTE construction classes. Dan Hassenmeyer had his work cut out for him as the lighting designer, as did Kennedy with the sound design, and both succeeded. The costumes designed by Julie Chevan, along with the hair and make-up designed by Andrea Kennedy, told the story of each of the characters, a few of them gender bent.

Alyssa Salazar worked as the production stage manager with the students involved in the production. Marcia Rizzotti and Robert Kennedy work together as ACT advisors. Viviana Pannenbecker worked as the student producer. Kennedy’s wife Andrea worked with the students as choreographer of the movement in a few sections of the performance.

The production was presented without an intermission and ran almost two hours, making it very immersive. On Thursday evening, Amity will present their annual holiday concert and admission is free. Save the dates for Amity’s spring musical “Disney The Little Mermaid” scheduled to run April 4, 5, 6, 10, and 11 of next year.

One show closes and we immediately begin the next one! Announcing Auditions for "The Little Mermaid". Info at https://amitytheaterdepartment.com/auditions