Men on Boats is playwright Jaclyn Backhaus’ mostly historical take on the story of the Powell expedition and its traverse of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. College of Marin’s production, directed by Erin McBride Africa, runs in its Studio Theatre through May 17.
Backhaus remains fairly true to the source material, with one major exception. The playwright requests that no cis men be cast in the production. The reason Backhaus gives for this is that American history as we know it intentionally excludes women, people of color and people with queer identities. As such, it is highly encouraged to cast not only cis women but also multiracial, non-binary, trans and gender-fluid actors in this play. I point that out because if an actor presents as male but identifies as something else, fans of the show need to remember that it’s not always obvious, and that’s OK.
As for this production, scenic designer NaYoung Kim and lighting designer Michele Samuels gamely stepped up—despite the truly baffling decision to put a 10-person action/adventure play in a space the size of a modern living room—by delivering a beautiful and practical Colorado River basin.
Similarly, costumes by Huda Al-Jamal were well researched and beautifully tweaked to add an interesting edge to traditional depictions of the Old West.
Arya Safavi as O.G. Howland, Jules Weiss as Andrew Hall and Madison Herhwitzky as George Bradley gave grounded, consistent performances.
However, the play included odd line deliveries, no stakes, unnecessary pausing, random unscripted breaking of the fourth wall and a whole litany of other things that the professors and director Africa are supposed to watch for and correct in order to teach good stage habits and give students a fuller toolbox to take with them out into the professional theatrical world.
As I’ve stated many times before, this is college theater, so it includes things that are unfair to expect from students, as they are still learning their craft. And regardless of my or anyone else’s opinion of a specific play, the best way to get good theater is to show up and support student productions.
Men on Boats is a tricky play. Its size, its conceit and its very location mean so many things can go wrong. Much like the expedition itself, sometimes the rapids are too fast and the waterfalls too steep for a safe ride.
‘Men on Boats’ runs through May 17 in the Studio Theatre at the College of Marin, 835 College Ave., Kentfield. Fri–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. Free. Reservations encouraged. Donations welcome. 415.485.9385. pa.marin.edu
