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The play, co-produced with Women's Project Theater, opens aboard a New York City subway, where two young African-American men are declaiming loudly about ring tones and women. In their dress, speech, and mannerisms, it is easy to peg the pair—each of whom works at a separate Burger King—as stereotypical urban youth, of the sort who would be depicted in an unimaginative sitcom. Devaun (Maurice Williams) appears to be the dull-witted one, always a day late and a dollar short, with a propensity for scrambling the English language. Jeron (Carter Redwood) is his better-educated friend, in turns indulgent and exasperated. In truth, it takes a while for their significance in the play to begin to take shape. For now, they mostly support the play's title by remarking on the ever-changing weather, which shifts unaccountably between hot and cold and from sunny to rain or snow, and then back again. Meanwhile, there are the play's other two main characters, a brother and sister from India, Ishan (Debargo Sanyal) and Nirmala (Mahira Kakkar). Ishan identifies as transgender and has begun the process of transitioning to a woman ("Goodbye, Ishan…Hello, Indira) while trying to launch a career as a matchmaker. Nirmala, pragmatic and no-nonsense, marks her days between her work running a grocery store and her visits to the hospital, where her husband has been lying in a persistent vegetative state ever since he was shot three years previously. Rounding out the cast of characters is Joe (Dion Graham), a city sanitation worker who pops into the store from time to time to pick up his favorite ice cream and in the hopes of seeing Nirmala. As the play progresses, many of our assumptions are upended as we learn more about each of the characters—their pain, their dreams, their courage, and their kindness. Devaun, in particular, who has shown himself to be homophobic and over-reactive to perceived slights, reveals a surprising depth of heart. And in the end, with a little boost from the Hindu deity Lord Genesha, all discover an unexpected world of possibilities. The performances, under Daniella Topol's direction, are strong all around, with Debargo Sanyal and Mahira Kakkar giving us such rich portrayals of their characters, we are unlikely to forget them. May Genesha grant them the wish that Indira makes and remove all hindrances to their happiness.
When January Feels Like Summer
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