Go Find Your “Safe Space,” this Summer at Bay Street Theater

Launching a World Premiere of a play is always risky business, and Bay Street Theater didn’t just throw the dice once this 2019 Mainstage Season. No, they courageously did it twice. Between the first show of the season, “The Prompter,” a new comedy by and starring Wade Dooley, and last night’s opening performance of “Safe Space,” by Alan Fox, Bay Street’s gamble paid off ­– they hit the theatrical jackpot with both of these gems.

“Safe Space,” is a one-act, full-length, three-character drama set at Alman College, a liberal arts school in Anywhere, USA, which explores the hot topic of political correctness in America today, and how it seems that nowadays you’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t.

The play is a throwback to the Brechtian epic theatrical movement of the early to mid-20th century, where plays reflected the political climate of the times. Toward the end of his career as a playwright and German theatre practitioner, Bertolt Brecht preferred the term “dialectical theatre,” where dramas were staged not as a form of escapism for audiences, but as a means to get the audience to confront – head-on – timely issues. Unlike other theatrical styles, which ask us to suspend out disbelief, epic theatre forces us to see the reality of our world as it is.

Under the astute direction of Jack O’Brian, Brecht's Verfremdungseffekt or the “alienation effect” is created in “Safe Space,” from the get-go. When the play opens, the house lights weren’t lowered till after the first scene; the set was rearranged in full view of the audience, and the use of visual captions all draw from the dramatic techniques popularized by the Brechtian theatre movement.

Rodney Richardson gave an overwhelmingly great performance as Marcus, a caring, intelligent, African-American professor, who losses his cool when he faces accusations of racism from a Japanese-American student, Jenny, played by Sasha Diamond. Ms. Diamond is totally convincing in her portrayal of an angry, uncompromising, entitled college student. The President of the college, Judith Rose, is played by Mercedes Ruehl, the award-winning stage, film, and television actress. Ms. Ruehl gave a stellar performance as Judith Rose, the first woman to ever head Alman College. She delivers her well-written lines with conviction, and at other times, with perfect comedic timing.

The visionary creative team includes: Jane Greenwood (Costume Designer), Tony Award winner, Bradley King (Lighting Designer), special effects Tony Award winner, John Gromada (Sound Designer), and Andrew Diaz (Props Designer). Tony Award winning, Scenic designer, David Rockwell’s movable set pieces became additional characters in the story, and the three-time Tony Award winning director, Jack O’Brien, made a wise choice in dressing the set crew as college students and choreographing their movements to accentuate the mood of the play. These college students/set crew members were: Enih Agwe, Adam Brett, Geanna Funes, and Ethan Metz. Jeff Sugg, the Projection Designer, created a rainstorm scene that is so realistic and mesmerizing that it will leave you feeling like you should go run for cover.

Smart, thought-provoking, and timely, Bay Street’s “Safe Space,” is a winner!

The show runs now through July 21. Single tickets are now on sale as well as subscriptions by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or online at www.baystreet.org.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright, and the author of two spiritual self-help books, "Grant Me a Higher Love," and "Why Good People Can't Leave Bad Relationships." Her full-length romantic comedy, "Angel's Mice and Men," will have its world premiere at the Hudson Guild Theater as part of the NY Summerfest 2019 Theater Festival on July 30,31,and August 3. http://newyorktheaterfestival.com/angels-mice-and-men/