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Regional Reviews: Los Angeles Samsara Also see Terry's review of Enron
Based on a 2008 New York Times article about the rise of surrogacy as a business in India, Samsara follows a Northern California couple, Katie (Jennifer Ruckman) and Craig (James McHale), as they await the birth of their child via a surrogate named Suraiya (Anisha Adusumilli). Craig has gone to India to be present at the birth, while Katie, who has a fear of flying, has stayed home, monitoring the progress through Craig's phone calls. Sounds conventional so far, but here are the twists: Suraiya carries on a conversation with her as yet unborn child, whom she has named Amit (Ray Parikh), and Katie entertains a fantasy lover known only as Frenchman (Jason Paul Evans). While Craig is earnest and empathetic, Frenchman is debonair and worldly. He also tempts Katie with a lifestyle that is clearly not the one she has, and plants seeds of doubt about surrogacy as an appropriate means of giving birth. Amit, for his part, is presented as a strapping six-foot-something man who dresses in short pants and calls his mother Microwave. He's not quite sure what's happening to him, and he doesn't seem to understand when Suraiya tells him that he is going to have a wonderful life in the U.S. after he's born. To assuage his concerns, Suraiya uses the refrain of "samsara," the cycle of life, death, and rebirth that continually repeats itself. Craig is the only character without a fantasy to keep him company, though he has his ideals to keep him going. Craig wants to connect with Suraiya and assure her that Katie and he plan not only to tell the child about her but to keep her informed about how the child is doing. Suraiya, who has become a surrogate as a means of obtaining money to attend medical school, is not so sure that she wants such an arrangement. As the birth approaches, Craig finds his ideals being shattered by both his wife and the woman who is bearing his child. Ms. Yee makes all of these elements flow smoothly back and forth between locales while gracefully probing the anxieties of all of her characters, both real and imagined. Bit by bit, she strips away her characters' fantasies and leaves them with both the beauty of bringing new life into the world and the ugliness of the surrogacy industry. And she does so with considerable humor that keeps the proceedings from becoming maudlin or the satire degenerating into diatribe. The result is a perfectly balanced dramaturgy that makes the 90-minute run time fly by. Chance is staging this production in its newly opened second space, and director Benjamin Kamine's production is simple but effective. Set designer Bruce Goodrich's work consists of a few pieces of furniture and a curtain that divides India and Northern California. Jeff Brewer's lighting design, Carole Zelinger's costume design, and Jeff Polunas and Ryan Brodkin's sound design are all utilitarian. Even so, the production never feels cheap or less than fully considered. The cast is uniformly excellent. Mr. McHale and Ms. Ruckman mesh well as a couple, and Ms. Adusumilli radiates practicality and resolve. Mr. Parikh and Mr. Evans, as the fantasy characters, get to show off a fair amount and, as Mr. Parikh's overgrown child gets more stage time, his performance is also the more memorable. Chance will maintain a relationship with Ms. Yee and will present some staged readings of work she's completed while part of the company. But this one production is plenty satisfying in itself and serves notice that we will be hearing from Lauren Yee for many years to come. Chance Theatre presents the West Coast premiere of Samsara, by Lauren Yee, through May 31, 2015. Check the Chance Theatre website, at chancetheater.com for both performance times and ticket availability, or phone 714.777.3033. Chance Theatre is located at 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills, CA 92807, north of the 91 freeway and west of Imperial Blvd. Directed by Benjamin Kamine with set design by Bruce Goodrich, lighting design by Jeff Brewer, costume design by Carole Zelinger, and sound design by Jeff Polunas and Ryan Brodkin. The cast includes Anisha Adusumilli, Jason Paul Evans, James McHale, Ray Parikh, and Jennifer Ruckman.
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