Garage Theatre Takes a New Stab at Killing the Patriarchy

In case you haven’t heard, patriarchy — the institutional bias of power structure(s) in favor of guys over gals — is a thing. But you probably have heard, because an ever-increasing amount of patriarchy talk in recent years means even those who would fain retain the status quo can’t pretend they don’t know lots of us think it’s a big-ass problem. 

Not surprisingly, playwrights are taking part in the discussion, the newest contributor being Lola Binks, whose Hat Box — world premiering at the Garage Theatre — invites us to view patriarchy and its discontents through the quiet (and as it eventually turns out, not so quiet) desperation of four sister-wives in late 18th-century Utah.

Father/Husband (Robert Young) is a self-styled prophet with a brood of wives and kids and a big following out here in frontier Utah. Looking to expand his little empire, he’s opening a lush embassy to receive travelers now that the railroad and telegraph are coming to town. But he needs to install his favorite wife as hostess — Easterners don’t brook polygamy. That’s Dorthea (Jess Neptune), whom he regards as the least vain. But leaving her fellow sister-wives to be on his arm in public is not her idea of a better life, and she does something about it in no uncertain terms.

As director, Binks does great service to her own material. She’s got the pacing just right, the rhythmic shifts. It all starts with the interplay of the three “downstairs” wives. Helen (Craig Johnson), the de facto leader, was the first and fully knows the score. Esther (Amanda Webb), the stateliest, diverts herself from her mundane reality with little projects and idiosyncrasies. As the newest/youngest/least experienced, Melvina (Skylar Alexis) acts like she’s the shit, even as she senses her powerlessness and disposability. We spend the first ten minutes with them alone, by which point we have the full lay of this stultifying land. 

Hat Box is such a measured mélange of drama and comedy that anyone put off by tonal ambivalence is going to be, well, put off. But that’s not a flaw in the writing. And though it’s an open question whether all of the comedy lands, even what you don’t find funny is unlikely to strike you as unfunny (an important distinction).

A strong cast and crew enables Hat Box to be all it can be. Skylar Alexis and Robert Young are the standouts, balls of energy that flare up in exactly the right places. And this is quite a good-looking show, especially considering the obvious limitations of the Garage’s black-box space. Young (doing double duty as scenic designer) and his crew have outdone themselves with the two-storey set, and Luke Moyer’s lighting design is full of tickles and surprises (love the flare, Luke).

However much Hat Box maps territory that’s been well-covered, it’s a new play that effectively dramatizes how the spirit of patriarchy transcends the individuals who perpetuate it — and how women can take an active hand in killing it off. I won’t be a bit surprised if it has a life beyond the Garage Theatre. It’s certainly gotten off on the right foot.

Hat Box at the Garage Theatre
Times: Thursday–Saturday 8:00 p.m., except no performances March 28–30
The show runs through April 20.
Cost: $18–$25 (Thursdays 2-for-1); closing night w/afterparty: $30
Details: thegaragetheatre.org
Venue: The Garage Theatre, 251 E. 7th St., Long Beach