Last weekend, I got to see the world premiere of How The World Began by Catherine Trieschmann, playing at South Coast Repertory, Sep 25 - Oct 16, 2011.
They have strong beliefs in Plainview, Kansas. And high school biology teacher Susan Pierce knows the score. A transplant from Manhattan, she arrived here with a desire to start a new life and a willingness to help out in the aftermath of a devastating tornado. Susan tries to tread carefully, but sometimes things fall out of her mouth willy nilly, like that offhand comment in her biology class about the origins of life. Folks in Plainview get up in arms about that kind of thing.
Wow! This play is about a controversial topic (creationist student v. evolutionist teacher) so my review may be controversial also. Let me state at this point that I am an atheist, however I do my best to respect all beliefs. It also needs to be noted that this play may not be appropriate for all audiences. The friend I brought with me is a devoted Christian, and she decided to step out of the theatre and wait in the lobby because one of the characters was "using the Lord's name in vain".
 |
| Jarrett Sleeper, Sarah Rafferty and Time Winters in the world premiere of How the World Began
by Catherine Trieschmann.
Photo by Henry DiRocco/SCR. |
So, with that said, this play really makes you think. There are only three characters: The teacher, Susan Pierce (Sarah Rafferty), is an atheist teaching evolutionary theory in her biology class. One of her students, Micah Staab (Jarrett Sleeper), is a christian who believes in creationism, and he objects to a specific phrase she used during her lecture. Gene Dinkel (Time Winters) is Micah's unofficial guardian, also a christian who believes in creationism, but willing to allow others to hold their own beliefs. He attempts to be a peace-keeper between Susan and Micah. But word of the dispute between student and teacher gets out, and things start to spiral terrifyingly out of control.
This is such a complex play. Because each character is doing his/her best from their own point of view, each is a good person, there is no "bad guy". Everyone is right, and there are no easy answers or resolutions.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
Okay, so I wanted to express some of my personal views on specific things that happened during the play.
First of all, the phrase Susan uses, "unless you believe in all that other gobbledy-gook." She claims it wasn't disrespectful to the Christians, and therefore she didn't need to apologize. I believe that it was disrespectful. You don't call something "gobbledy-gook" unless you have no respect for it. However, I think she believed she was being asked to apologize for her beliefs, which was that creationism is gobbledy-gook. Even if those weren't her exact words, that is what was between the lines. I believe everyone has a right to express their own beliefs without having to apologizing for them, but that one should be respectful in doing so. I believe she should have apologized for offending Micah and the other christian students. (Not for her beliefs.)
I'm not sure what to make of Micah. Everything that happens, "That's not what I wanted," but so much of it is out of his control. I suppose some of it could be avoided if he'd been a little bit more flexible with Susan, but my Christian friend says he was right in not budging or backing down.
The ending of the play really bothers me. Micah comes to Susan to try and make things right as best he can. She turns his help away. Then there's another tornado siren, and Micah hides under the desk in terror. Susan helps him out. It seems that in spite of their differences, both sides can forgive and co-exsist after all. But then she feels her baby move for the first time, and Micah reaches out to feel, too. She snaps "Don't you dare!" The lights go out, end of the play. I feel that the playwright's message with that ending is that the Christians will forgive but the atheists will not. That seems a bit judgmental and unfair to me. Maybe I'm looking at that reality through rose-colored glasses.
But on the other hand, Susan has felt persecuted for her beliefs through the entire play. She looses everything because Micah won't budge, and keeps demanding more retribution from her for her mistake. She's willing to help him through his terror, but her unborn baby is her most vulnerable thing, and no way is she letting him near that.
No easy answers. No reconcilliation. It truly makes me sad that people are wired to be afraid of anything different from their own beliefs, and to lash out abusively, disrespectfully, violently to "defend" themselves.
The ending of the play really bothers me. Micah comes to Susan to try and make things right as best he can. She turns his help away. Then there's another tornado siren, and Micah hides under the desk in terror. Susan helps him out. It seems that in spite of their differences, both sides can forgive and co-exsist after all. But then she feels her baby move for the first time, and Micah reaches out to feel, too. She snaps "Don't you dare!" The lights go out, end of the play. I feel that the playwright's message with that ending is that the Christians will forgive but the atheists will not. That seems a bit judgmental and unfair to me. Maybe I'm looking at that reality through rose-colored glasses.
But on the other hand, Susan has felt persecuted for her beliefs through the entire play. She looses everything because Micah won't budge, and keeps demanding more retribution from her for her mistake. She's willing to help him through his terror, but her unborn baby is her most vulnerable thing, and no way is she letting him near that.
No easy answers. No reconcilliation. It truly makes me sad that people are wired to be afraid of anything different from their own beliefs, and to lash out abusively, disrespectfully, violently to "defend" themselves.
by Conor McPherson is 
