Some of the best local actors, as well as a promising newcomer, add polish to the world premiere of Stephen Massicotte’s 10 Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher. This mouthful-of-a-play closes Next Act Theater’s current season.
First, the bad news. There’s nothing new here that hasn’t been said before. The “creationism” versus “Darwinism” debate is respectfully told, without prejudice for one side or another. However, the same debate still goes on today, especially in the nation’s public schools, and so is worth examining. What separates Massicotte’s play from others (this is the good news) is the way his characters demonstrate an apparent softening of views after repeated clashes about the subject matter being taught in Ms. Kelly’s (Deborah Staples) high school biology class. Of course, no one actually jumps to the other side of the issue.
Although other characters expand the concept – from both angles – the scenes that pack the most punch are between Ms. Kelly and a smart but otherwise typical teen in her class. Raymond (Kyle Curry) is not shy about expressing his views about evolution in an after-school session with Ms. Kelly. “You are spreading lies,” he tells her. Chicago actor Kyle Curry is completely believable as an adolescent caught in the middle. He takes on a teen’s slouchy posture, mumbling, shuffling walk and a fierce certainty that what his mother taught him was correct.<
Further on in the play, we learn that tragic circumstances in Raymond’s family weigh heavily on his side of the issue. Despite the mountain before her, actor Deborah Staples demonstrates the patience of Job as she launches into a talk about school policy to Raymond. Staples is splendid as a caring, sensitive teacher whose hands are nonetheless tied by rules regarding the curriculum.
An avuncular principal, Mr. Lester (David Cecsarini), casually pops in while Ms. Kelly and Raymond go through round one. Mr. Lester believes he has the perfect solution to Ms. Kelly’s predicament. He assigns Raymond to a study hall during the biology chapter dealing with evolution. Ms. Kelly isn’t as sure as Mr. Lester that this solution is going to work, but she really has no choice in the decision. As Ms. Kelly and Mr. Lester chat by themselves in her classroom (wonderfully created down to the last detail by set designer William Boles), it becomes clear that Lester has some romantic attraction to Ms. Kelly. Although Ms. Kelly is single, she turns down his repeated invitations to dinner, etc. One can sense an intense internal struggle within Ms. Kelly that has nothing to do with the subject at hand.
If Mr. Lester is Ms. Kelly’s champion, Raymond counts on the support of his mother, Mrs. Kessler (Mary MacDonald Kerr). She hears about the evolution chapter “solution” and comes out swinging. Raymond cringes, as teens normally do, when a parent draws attention to herself. Mrs. Kessler is so unhappy that she immediately wants to take Raymond out of school. Despite Ms. Kelly’s and Mr. Lester’s pleas, Raymond’s mother refuses to change her position. Kerr does what she can with a somewhat brittle character.
As stated earlier, the scenes between Ms. Kelly and Raymond seem to propel the play forward. In a particularly noteworthy moment, Ms. Kelly tries another tack to create some mutual connection with Raymond. They eventually discover that both she and Raymond like U2’s music (and some U2 songs are incorporated into the set changes). Director Shawn Douglass takes a firm grip of the material, but he also allows the actors free reign to define the nuances of their characters. We never wonder where this play is going, but we continue to remain somewhat curious about what makes these characters tick. That’s probably the best one can expect from a play that is more about ideas and beliefs than about relationships.
