The Justice

Media Credit: Bryan Prywes The irrepressible Gayla Faye (Erica Lubitz '12, right) inspires Gertie (Leah Carnow '12) to follow her heart in the play 'Lot's Daughters.'

Lot's Daughters is a play about sexuality, gender, religion and oppression set in the 1940s. Sitting amid an attentive, intimate audience in South Campus Commons, one couldn't help but feel transported to the locale of the play's setting-rural Kentucky during World War II. The actors portrayed their characters brilliantly, depicting intense emotions and thoroughly embodying their roles throughout the production. Despite the small cast size (only nine actors), each actor did an amazing job of creating a sense of a small, Midwestern community while engaging the audience in the drama and leaving little wanting, as evidenced by the audience's sniffling at the show's completion.

Lot's Daughters, by Rebecca Basham, is the story of two young women, Gertie and Susannah, growing up in a fanatically religious town where men have all the power and women struggle with their confined roles. References are made to the Old Testament story of Lot, and parallels between the biblical text and the girls' situation are obvious throughout the show. The drama leaves viewers wondering about faith and pondering how people can twist and distort religion to meet their own means.

Gertie Cobb, powerfully played by Leah Carnow '12, is the protagonist of this story as she questions her relationship with her brother Waincey's (Yoni Bronstein '13) new wife Susannah (Jessi Fixsen '12). Waincey and Susannah, having only met once, marry the night before Waincey must leave for war, leaving Gertie to take in and provide for her new sister-in-law. Gertie helps Susannah learn her own self-worth by showing her tenderness and affection, in great contrast with the treatment Susannah has received from the men in her life. However, as Gertie and Susannah grow closer, they are forced to question the nature of their relationship and whether it is a sin, both because of their romantic feelings for each other and because of Susannah's legal ties to Waincey. Carnow and Fixsen shine as they make a series of emotional discoveries throughout the story, in tears one moment and professing their love the next. The two actresses play off each other amazingly and seem to have real chemistry. Bronstein does a great job portraying Gertie's clueless older brother, and although his character is away at war for most of the show, when he is present he provides some much-needed comic relief.

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