Michael Fell, Mark Rosenwinkel, Anna Sundberg, Sam Bardwell and Gerry Geiken in For The Loyal. Photo by lauren b photography.
The Illusion Theater’s stated mission is “to create theater that illuminates the illusions, myths and realities of our times and to catalyze personal and social change.†It makes sense, then, that the company would choose to premier Minnesota-born playwright Lee Blessing’s new play For The Loyal, which addresses the difficult conversation around child sexual abuse.
For The Loyal‘s story centers on young pregnant wife, Mia (Anna Sundberg), and her husband Toby (Sam Bardwell), a graduate assistant at a large fictional university’s prestigious football program. When Toby witnesses his superior, offensive coordinator Mitch Carlson (Garry Geiken), engage in incriminating behavior with a young boy, he and his wife must choose between openly seeking justice and the promise of a lucrative career working with his idol, head coach Hale (Mark Rosenwinkel).
From there the play explores a number of different scenarios and the consequences of their possible choices, weaving between timelines and internal ponderings of Mia. There are also a number of imagined conversations with past and future victims (all played by Michael Fell) and the rest of the characters.
Openly inspired by the events surrounding the case against Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, and the Penn State football program, For The Loyal explores the hero worship and self-delusion that allows abuse to continue for decades. These, it must be stated, are important topics, and The Illusion should be applauded for their willingness to start this discussion. However, despite its earnestness, this play, like so many social-issue dramas, feels artificial in its overtly educational motivations and grows tedious in its thematic repetition.
These issues stem from For The Loyal’s central figure of Mia, who we oddly never really get to know. Who is this woman? What are her passions? What does she love about her husband? How does she feel about her impending motherhood and what dreams does she have for her son? The play doesn’t give us much, and as a result she lacks dimension. In fact, no one involved in the production seems to know who Mia is – and instead of adding depth and nuance, Ms. Sundberg mostly plays her with an odd mix of pushiness and wide-eyed naïveté. This is especially problematic as she serves as the ever-present, central figure of the show as it moves in a nonlinear fashion.
That nonlinear structure is an oft-clever framing device to explore various sobering realities. And despite the show becoming occasionally confused (partly by Mia remaining visibly pregnant throughout the show regardless of context), this structure is interesting. Overall, however, Blessing’s movements feel flat due to a lack of aesthetic and tonal variance.
A bright spot in the production is Garry Geiken, who plays his Sandusky stand-in with a disquieting charm and maddening ego, making him the most believable character in the show. Notably, he shares chemistry with Mia, a chemistry lacking elsewhere in her interactions. This leads to one of the most impressive scenes, where Mia demands he play-act various people (the athletic director, the Dean, a policeman) that she could go to seeking justice.
Ultimately For The Loyal hamstrings its conversation in neglecting its characters for the sake of its ideas. In doing so, it fails to engage at a level worthy of its weighty subject matter. Of course, compared to the exploitative properties common to television procedurals, this show respects rather than sensationalizes, and in that, it should be commended.
In addition to their play reviews on HowWasTheShow.com, David and Chelsea Berglund review movies on Movie Matrimony.