The excellent new production at Playcrafters Barn Theatre is certainly the theatrical equivalent of a “chick flick,” but one scene during the new play “Paint Night” definitely hit home for me.
In the story by Carey Crim, five women (including two mother-daughter pairs) — in great need of a girls’ night out — gather for a bachelorette paint-and-sip night at their local art studio. As the wine and paint flow freely, secrets and long-held tensions come to the surface.
The outgoing studio owner Vera, hilariously played by Emmalee Hilburn, patiently guides the girls in creating their own paintings, but first orders them all to put their mobile phones in a basket before they pick up a brush.
“Our phones are crack! We need to quit the crack habit,” Vera exclaims in one of her revealing wisecracks, that’s oh so true. She wants the ladies to focus on their art, noting that the average person touches their phone 2,500 times a day.
The paint night is a “judgement-free zone,” like going back to kindergarten, Vera says. But this is kindergarten with alcohol, as the women often take breaks to drink and discuss their life’s many stresses and challenges. That causes Vera at one point to ask, “Is this paint night or therapy night?”
Obviously, it’s both, and all six actresses during opening night showcased strong emotions and made each character eminently relatable.
Playcrafters is just the second place in the country to present the new play, which debuted last fall in Maine, directed with heart and soul by Madelyn Dorta. As the ladies attempt to connect with their inner artists, they confront buried truths about themselves and their relationships, proving that life, like art, rarely turns out exactly as planned.
In addition to Hilburn as Vera, Ashley Gomez was Lolly (for the first weekend, Amari Harris will play her the second weekend); Kathy Graham is Lolly’s mom Miriam, Ashley Hoskins is Fern, Bez Lancial-McMullen is her daughter Bree, and Khalia Denise is Gwen.
“At its core, ‘Paint Night’ is a celebration of friendship, truth, and the beautiful messiness of life,” Dorta wrote for the program. “What unfolds is a journey of self-discovery and revelation as each character grapples with their inner demons and confronts the truths they’ve been avoiding.
“What I love most about this story is its authenticity,” the director said. “It doesn’t shy away from the messy, imperfect reality of life. Instead, it embraces it wholeheartedly…”
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One of the glories of great theater is not only that it offers an insightful window into different worlds and people with which we’re not familiar, but “Paint Night” holds up a mirror to our current society and lets us connect intimately to lives that are familiar and relevant today.
The cynical, struggling Miriam (embodied with wry, dry and bitter tenacity by Kathy Graham) is not just dealing with a bipolar, missing son (unseen in the play), but is waiting for Lolly to show up at paint night and her daughter is a hippie-ish earth mother type – on the verge of getting married. They argue about Lolly’s plans to avoid a traditional burial after death, and instead be composted and help nourish the earth.
Gomez gives a carefree, progressive and beautiful portrayal of Lolly and it’s heart-wrenching to see Graham’s arc in the role, which climaxes in a fateful phone call near the story’s close.
Equally touching are tales from the other women. Khalia Denise as the powerful, no-nonsense Gwen reflects her character’s frustrations in trying to re-enter the workforce after having kids (who aren’t yet fully grown). Gwen desperately wants to get back out there, “but out there has changed,” she says. Denise nails the agonizing balance of an ambitious career mom wanting to have it all.
And in another mother-daughter clash, Ashley Hoskins is heartbreaking in facing her Bree’s dealing with a six-year-old son who wants to be a girl – having a princess party for his birthday, and get a Barbie as his Happy Meal toy at McDonald’s.
Bez McMullen (Bree) and Hoskins (Fern) both clearly want the best for the boy, and wrestle with what that looks like in more societal change and upheaval.
True to the art form, there are many emotional colors in “Paint Night,” but it’s not all stark, dark drama. Primarily in the first half, there is a good amount of sex-related humor, with double entendres about the size of paint brushes, and a joke about a dirty word that Fern didn’t know was dirty. Near the end, the gals also have fun in a chaotic painting of each other.
Not only are the actors painting over the course of the play, “Paint Night” is also displaying artworks from established QC artists on stage, and in the lobby. Playcrafters put out a call for local artists to show off some pieces and put some up for sale.
The set design (including hanging lights and empty frames) by Dorta and Graham, with lighting by Gio Macias, is super cool. The talented actresses not only make you care intensely about the characters, but they seem to have formed a close bond among each other.
Performances (at 4950 35th Ave., Moline) will continue at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
Tickets (general admission is $15, and $13 for military and seniors) are available on the Playcrafters website HERE or by calling 309-762-0330. Tickets will also be for sale at the door (while available).
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