“HURRICANE DIANE”: Theatre Intime has presented “Hurricane Diane.” Directed by Pixley Marquardt, the play was presented April 10-12 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above: Ostensibly a professional gardener, Diane (Ren Dzyuba) is the human form of an ancient Greek god, who has come to encourage four suburban women to reimagine their concepts of landscaping — and a few other things. (Photo by Haruka Nabashima)
By Donald H. Sanborn III
In 2017 Neil deGrasse Tyson posted on X, “Creativity that satisfies & affirms your world view is Entertainment. Creativity that challenges & disrupts your world view is Art.” This comment has been echoed in numerous essays about theater that call on the medium to emphasize works that disrupt or dismantle the status quo.
Hurricane Diane is a play that accomplishes this by making a disruption of the status quo its central plot point. Diane, a mysterious professional gardener (who we quickly learn is much more than that) demands that four suburban women completely redefine their concepts of landscaping, for the sake of the environment.
The play is inspired by, and loosely based on, Euripides’ The Bacchae. “Diane” actually is the Greek god Dionysus (“the God of agriculture, wine, and song.”), who — as in Euripides’ original play — takes human form to visit Earth.
Written by Madeleine George, a Whiting Award for Drama winner whose The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Hurricane Diane premiered in 2017 at Two River Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. An Off-Broadway production followed in 2019, giving the play two Obie Awards (for playwriting and performance).
Princeton University’s Theatre Intime has presented Hurricane Diane. Pixley Marquardt directed a vibrant production whose cast and design team took full advantage of the creative possibilities offered by George’s offbeat script.
Marquardt is particularly moved by the play’s environmental themes. In a program note the director writes, “We are living in a brand-new geological epoch, where the industrial and post-industrial activities of humans have substantially altered the very fabric of the earth. Look no further than the suburban cul-de-sac to see the massive interventions we’ve made in the natural world, and the ways we’ve tried to hide these disruptions.” Noting that Dionysus is the god of theater, Marquardt describes the medium as a “bacchic ritual” that “provides catharsis” but also “shows us … how it is that the world could be.”
The first thing we see is Sahaf Chowdhury’s set, which immediately establishes a tension between nature and human architecture. Two flower-laden hedges flank a central white kitchen, as if ready to close in on it and attack it. (By way of establishing the sameness with which all of the mortal characters’ homes are constructed and decorated, the kitchen is not heavily furnished; different lighting choices are used to demarcate the different characters’ homes.)
Diane (played by Ren Dzyuba, who aptly balances the character’s power — described by George in the script as “butch charisma” — with line deliveries that are strikingly matter-of-fact) loses no time in establishing herself as larger than life. She does this by breaking the fourth wall to directly address the audience; she is the only character who does so.
In an opening monologue Diane reveals her true identity to us. She also lets us know that she is peeved about many things: her gradual loss of female worshippers, and humans’ treatment of the environment. “I see you’ve been busy … despoiling the green earth that gave you life.”
Diane is here — at a rather upscale cul-de-sac in modern, suburban New Jersey — to rectify both issues. Having decided to take the guise of a landscaper, she intends to see the “world initiated into my rites” and “the instant healing of our green planet.” In other words, Diane is part Greek god and cult leader, part Don Juan-esque seducer, and part environmental activist.
This production — and Diane’s opening speech in particular — is markedly enhanced by the addition of live incidental music created by Composer and Music Director Yuri Lee. The atmospheric, atonal music that accompanies the monologue stops when Diane describes the moment when her ancient worshippers forgot about her.
Joined by Lee on violin, the other musicians are keyboardist Giovanni Nigro, clarinetist Jacob Jackson, metallurgist Eli Au.
The first woman to whom Diane attempts to offer her unique gardening ideas is Carol, who works in the compliance department of a pharmaceutical company. The affable, but strong-willed and resolutely conventional, Carol (given perky line readings by Kailani Melvin) ultimately rejects Diane’s double entendre-laden sales pitch, as well as her subtle but obvious sexual advances.
Resolving to try Carol again later, Diane next turns to Carol’s friends. She has better luck converting (read: seducing) the more malleable Beth, who is depressed due to her husband recently having left her (Lucy Grunden’s line readings capture the character’s vulnerability).
Diane’s other conquests range from plausible — even-tempered HGTV Magazine editor Renee (smoothly portrayed by Iman Monfopa Kone) is predisposed to be receptive to Diane’s landscaping ideas — to far-fetched. Italian American spitfire Pam (given a distinctive Jersey accent by Kaydance Rice) initially resists Diane, but immediately succumbs upon learning her true identity. (Lucy Shea is the show’s intimacy director.)
Costume Designer Didi Vekri ably outfits the four women with costumes that match their personalities — a green shirt for the eco-friendly Renee, a blue sweater for the sad Renee, and a dress with loop multi-colored, angular patterns for the unpredictable Pam.
Soon, Diane becomes a source of conflict among the four friends. Carol, who loves HGTV Magazine for the photos, is horrified that Renee is so receptive of Diane’s ideas, and that she wants to steer the publication in a more progressive direction. Put another way, remembering Neil deGrasse Tyson’s quote: Diane and Renee want to offer (horticultural) art, but Carol wants entertainment.
Diane remains determined to convert Carol (Dzyuba and Melvin play off of each other well in scenes where they argue), but the god is becoming impatient. If Diane cannot have all four women, then she will wreak an environmental disaster.
In a final effort to draw out the obdurate Carol (whom might say is scarcely blown away by Diane’s intentions), Diane leads the three converted women (who, echoing Euripides’ Maenads, now function as a Greek chorus) in a Bacchanal that features some suitably earthy choreography by Kate Willey.
Appropriately, Callisto Lim’s sound design and Rowan Johnson’s lighting are at their best during the climactic hurricane segment. Marquardt lets the sequence last for several minutes, giving it considerable power (and deftly obscuring the moving of furniture). The trio of Diane’s converts returns to sing a final, haunting lament.
Juxtaposing larger-than-life characters from ancient mythology against ordinary contemporary characters often is an effective device in both theater and film, and generally that proves to be the case here. The play’s (all too relevant) environmental message is commendable, if overtly didactic.
George’s script has some deft touches; a conversation in which Diane chides Carol and her friends for referring to themselves as “girls” (despite being grown women) initially sounds like an isolated feminist commentary about semantics, but will be revealed to hint at a deeper theme. Diane later refers to people rebuilding their homes after environmental disasters as children “playing with blocks.” Arguably, Carol is an overgrown child who is determined to have everything she wants, no matter what it costs her community.
Ultimately, the most crucial evidence of script’s strength is the impressive creativity and passion it brings out in the Theatre Intime artists, whose work is audibly appreciated by the audience throughout the performance. Unlike the title character, Hurricane Diane manages to get everyone (in the cast and creative team) on the same wavelength, resulting in a satisfying unity of script and production.
For information about upcoming Theatre Intime productions visit theatreintime.org.