Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Florida - West Coast

The Amish Project
Banyan Theater Company

Also see Bill's reviews of The Cotton Club Cabaret and The Customer is Always Right


Katherine Michelle Tanner
Banyan Theater Company, Sarasota's home for serious theater during the summer, is presenting The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey, which American Stage produced with the same director and leading actress in Spring, 2013. At American Stage The Amish Project ran in repertory with a contrasting play When the World Was Green. (Here is my review of both plays).

The Amish Project was the stronger of the two plays and packs an emotional wallop. A program note informs us that it "is a fictional exploration of a real event that took place on October 2, 2006, in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Characters are entirely fictional and are not meant to present real people." With that caveat, the various characters are so richly imagined that fact and fiction feel like two sides of the same coin.

Katherine Michelle Tanner, one of the area's finest actresses, plays nine different people with different viewpoints about the traumatic event: a deranged man entering an Amish Schoolhouse and killing 10 girls. Ms. Tanner's performance is so vivid that the audience has no difficulty differentiating between the characters. Director Todd Olson helps with this by placing various characters mostly in specific areas of the stage. The three most fully realized characters (Velda, an Amish girl age six; Carol Stuckey, widow of the shooter; and Bill North, a sociologist studying the Amish) bring out the most nuanced performances from our star, but all nine personages are beautifully realized.

Scenic design by Don Laurel Jordan suggests a schoolhouse with barn planks and chalk boards on which Velda draws the people from her world. Costumes by Cristy Owen and lighting by Michael Pasquini make vital contributions to the overall production. I salute Ms. Owen and Mr. Pasquini, both of whom often work with West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, for being in so many places at the same time, especially because WBTT has two productions up and running at this time.

I noticed a much more youthful audience than one often sees in Sarasota, many young people under 20 and quite a number of young adults, which pleased me because I think the play's themes of redemption and forgiveness are meaningful for audiences of all ages. I am thrilled to revisit this play—thank you Banyan Theater Company for bringing it to Sarasota.

Banyan Theater Company presents The Amish Projectthrough August 2, 2015, at the Jane B. Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL, 34243. Call (941) 351-2808 banyantheatercompany.com.. Cast: Katherine Michelle Tanner as
Anna: Amish girl, age 14
Carol Stuckey: English/non Amish, age 31
Velda: Amish, girl, age 6
Bill North: English/non-Amish, 50s
America: Hispanic girl, age 16
Eddie Stuckey: English/non-Amish, 33
Sherry Local: English/non-Amish, 53
*=Member of Actor's Equity Association

Director: Todd Olson
Scenic Designer: Don Laurel Jordan
Costume Designer: Cristy Owen
Lighting Designer: Michael Pasquini
Associate Lighting Designer: Nick Jones
Sound Designer: Dorian Boyd
Technical Director: Peter MacBeth
Production Stage Manager: Jon Merlyn*

--William S. Oser