Pinter once said, “Everything is a comedy, until it isn’t.” That certainly holds true for Marin Theatre’s production of Mara Nelson-Greenberg’s Do You Feel Anger? The show runs in Mill Valley through June 29.
Set in a debt collection call center, this comedy follows empathy coach Sofia (Sam Jackson) as she tries to teach the dysfunctional team. Met with a bizarre and clueless set of workers, Sofia tries everything in her toolkit to bring some sort of order to the chaos. The wackiness at work is mirrored in Sofia’s private life by a shocking admission from her father about specific likes that have dissolved her parents’ marriage.
The comedy is brilliant. The script, with its over-the-top absurdity and wacky characters, is sharp. Becca Wolff’s direction is precise, and the show is almost perfectly paced over its 90 intermission-free minutes.
This is the sort of production one learns about in college classes on cohesiveness. Randy Wong-Westbrooke’s set is an artfully designed blind of realism. Ray Oppenheimer’s lights start storytelling the moment the audience enters the theater. Matt Stine’s sound design is just the right amount of campy to ease situations that otherwise would bog down the momentum. The costumes by Fatima Yahyaa provide some beautiful foreshadowing while appearing realistic at first.
The cast is also first-rate. Jackson’s Sofia is realistically grounded in a world gone crazy. Atosa Babaoff is heartbreaking as Sofia’s mother. linda maria girón’s Eva seems over the top initially. But as the play progresses, one understands how subtle the characterization is. Max Forman-Mullin’s Howie, Phil Wong’s Jordan and Joseph O’Malley’s Jon showcase actors who understand both high comedy and subtle menace.
This brings me to the point where the comedy stops. This is the type of theater that has kept me doing theater for the last 40 years. It’s a hilarious play that I wholeheartedly think is worth seeing. But with that being said, if one is/has been female/femme-presenting, don’t see this play alone, especially at night.
One will need more than keys to feel comfortable on their way to the car after the show ends. This script is hauntingly unsettling, and this production capitalizes on it. As I write these words, I again feel my skin crawl.
This show is worth that unease.
‘Do You Feel Anger?’ runs through June 29 at Marin Theatre, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Wed-Sat, 7:30pm; Sat-Sun, 2pm. $10-$85. 415.388.5208. Recommended ages 15 and up. marintheatre.org.
