By: Andrea Myers
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| Autistic License's Mom (Amy McDonald), Dad (Ari Hoptman) and child (Michael Paul Levin) - Publicity Photo |
I'll be the first to admit that I don't spend a lot of time at the theater. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing plays; it just doesn't occur to me to seek out a play when there are always at least five different local bands playing around town. But since I live in a metropolitan area that boasts the third highest number of theater seats in the US (behind San Fran and NYC), I figured I should try to get out into this other realm of performance art a bit more.
And what a way to ease into theater: the play I decided to check out, Autistic License at Illusion Theater, was a gripping, emotionally wrought performance that combined innovative playwriting with skillful acting to create a must-see play.
Written by local author and first-time full-length playwright Stacey Dinner-Levin, Autistic License immediately broke any stereotypes I had about “typical” theater. The plot was presented from the perspective of an autistic child's mother who was being interviewed on Inside the Actors Studio – yes, the Bravo show with host James Lipton, who on this night was imitated flawlessly by Allen Hamilton. The interview was set off to the side of the stage, and as the main character (Amy McDonald) reflected on her child's struggles with autism, her memories were acted out in front of our eyes, with McDonald jumping masterfully between scenes. At times, it felt more like watching a perfectly pieced together documentary than a live stage performance, and it was enthralling.
McDonald's performance was breathtaking. What I thought was going to be a play about a child struggling with autism instead turned out to be a story of a mother enduring the cycle of emotions that accompany learning her child is disabled. Grief, anger, denial, sadness, guilt and overwhelming love for her son were all portrayed so realistically that it was hard not to get choked up at times. And just when I thought the whole audience was about to let out one collective sob, Mom, Dad (Ari Hoptman), son (Michael Paul Levin) and “the normal” brother (Damon Brook) would create scenes so outrageously funny and lifelike (example: Brook lying in bed banging his foot on the wall and yelling, “I can't help it, my foot has autism!”) that we had no choice but to laugh through our welled-up tears.
And then there was the son. Obviously a complex character, the autistic child was played by the husband of the playwright (and father of the child who inspired the play), and it was hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for Michael Paul Levin to portray his own handicapped son. Levin accomplished the task with grace and humor, and it made the entire narrative all the more compelling.
Wiping a tear from my eye, I left the Illusion Theater with a deeper understanding of autism, a profound gratitude toward the playwright and her husband for sharing such a compelling story with the world, and a reassurance that local theater has a lot to offer, even to people like me who don't get out as much as we should.
While talking to audience members during an intermission, I collected some information about more local theater options this summer that are not only entertaining, but affordable. Here are a few options.
Stevie Ray's Improv in the Park: Sundays in the summer, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Rose Gardens at Lake Harriett; free.
Location Info:
Illusion Theater
Artist Info: Stacey Dinner-Levin
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