Poignant ‘Riot Grrrl 90s’ makes return to Planet Ant
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — If you were lucky enough to catch Boxfest this past summer at Planet Ant, you might remember a standout, Riot Grrrl 90s.
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Boxfest is annual theater festival created to give female directors an opportunity to stage original shows. Riot Grrrl 90s was the winner of the fest, so Bailey was invited to give it a longer treatment. She basically took all that was good about the short and expanded it, giving us a deeper look at the main characters and their friendship, as well as the trials and tribulations (mostly trials) of high school.
The play’s narrator, who at 40, is reflecting back on her teenage self, Jen (played by DeAnnah Kleitz-Singleton). High school is ripe for subject matter, and this tale is evident of that. Jen, her friend Rachel (Janelle Soulliere) and Rachel’s neighbor, Mike (Andy Reid), quickly remind us of why being an adult is so much better than being a teen.
Lauren Bickers, who plays a plethora of roles, nearly steals the show with her interpretation of Shannon, the new girl from Virginia who has a bit of an affected Valley Girl accent. She’s the girl in high school that the girls hated and the boys loved. We’ll leave it at that. She also plays the French teacher, Rachel’s sister, Jen’s mom, the nun, a lawyer and a nurse. That’s seven roles, which has to be a record for one person to play.
Riot Grrrl 90s is a poignant tale of first love, unplanned pregnancy, and how boys can ruin friendships. Reid excels at playing the self-involved Mike. Selfish and teenage boy are synonyms, right? I’d like to think girls are better, but maybe not. Soulliere plays Rachel, the cool girl that turns into Jen’s best friend. She listens to the same alternative/punk music and teaches Jen how to smoke. But she also ends up being somewhat self-absorbed. Maybe it’s just a teen thing. But witnessing their immaturity and how they can act with such little regard for each other is at times truly cringeworthy.
Music that Jen and Rachel would have listened to in the ‘90s does a nice job of bridging the scenes, along with the familiar sound of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. There were a few lighting snafus during the opening night performance, but they will hopefully get smoothed out.
The set is sparse but adequate. It must serve multiple functions including Jen’s bedroom, Rachel’s living room, school and a movie theatre. The wall behind Jen’s bed is decorated with music posters from back in the day, which is a nice touch. The one-act moves quickly with the cast moving chairs around as necessary to convey the different scenarios. There are no costume changes which, again, keeps things moving quickly. Teens only wear jeans and band T-shirts for the most part. Some things never change.
A portion of the proceeds is being donated to Planned Parenthood, and there is also a collection jar for additional donations at all performances. Given the current political climate, it’s a nice touch.
The play starts out with lots of laughs, but takes a turn to the somber side toward the end. There’s a lot of food for thought here. Bailey does an excellent job of being provocative without alienating her audience.