Rapture, Blister, Burn
Out of Box Theatre
through June 25, 2016

Playwright Gina Gionfriddo has done several works with the object to make one think of issues which may not normally be at the top of their list. Her Becky Shaw also deals with convoluted personal relationships.

In this work we meet Cathy (Laura Cole) who is a successful, single professional woman and has no relationships to speak of. There is a couple who she is friends with. Gwen (Jill Hames Graham) and Don (Zip Rampy) are in a difficult relationship. He has his quirks, is not a go-getter, and she is a mom who never got the chance to try to reach for her stars.

Dianne Butler plays the mother of Cathy, who may need some care-giving help, albeit she seems to be more sane than the other gals from time to time. The action starts to evolve when Avery (Bryn Striepe) becomes the ignition switch. Avery is a student at the college where Don is a lower level dean. She also is working as a baby-sitter for Don and Gwen, except Gwen isn’t thrilled about having her there.

So we find three generations of women getting into the rights of women to find fulfillment in their own ways. Grandmother Alice, Mother Gwen, and the student, Avery. To facilitate the discussion, Gwen and Avery opt into a course to be run by Cathy, dealing with relationships. He didn’t expect either one of them, and in fact, there were no others. And so the story goes . . .

A lot of it deals with the works of Betty Friedan in the 1960-1970s, the days of organizing the NOW (National Organization for Women), of thousands of women taking to the streets in major cities. Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique lit the fires for women to see themselves as more than home-makers, domestics and those who followed the leads of their spouses. In today’s world we can salute women such as Friedan; although the truth remains that the fight must go on, as the glass ceilings and pre-conceptions continue to prevail in our society.

This one is well done, and has plenty of laughs to gift-wrap the factor that it deals with discriminatory practices. Just ask your relatives or neighbors. For more info visit OutOfBoxTheatre.com