When Taylor Mac‘s play Hir opened in New York in 2015, Charles Isherwood of the New York Times called it “sensational in all sense of the word.” Well, it only took Los Angeles four years to get its own production of Hir, but, no pun intended, it’s here. The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble‘s production opened recently to equally positive reviews and the show will run until March 17th.
Puppett and Ron Bottitta (on floor) in “Hir” (Photo by Enci Box)
Hir is part of the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s 50th Anniversary season. Directed by Bart DeLorenzo, the play is a dark comedy depicting a family in utter chaos. The son (Zack Gearing) has returned home from his tour of duty in Afghanistan and finds the war he left behind is no match for the war within the four walls of his family’s home. His mother, Paige (Cynthia Kania) has extricated herself from an unhappy marriage to her husband, Arnold (Ron Bottitta). She has her other child – now an openly out and transgender, Max (Puppett) – as her ally.
Patriarchy doesn’t stand a chance in this battle presented as only Mac can. Of Hir, Mac says, “The title is a metaphor. It’s pronounced ‘here,’ and I enjoy the duality of something being about gender and also about place.”
Mac, as readers of this blog will recall, is the actor, singer/songwriter, performance artist whose A 24-Decade History of Popular Music was a massive hit for CapUCLA at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel. Mac returned late last year with Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce at Royce Hall.
If you think all family plays are the same, Hir will prove to you just how unique this most traditional of settings for a play can be.
All photos by Enci Box.