Sarah DeLappe’s outstanding 2017 Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama “The Wolves,” a contemporary, coming-of-age character study about a girls’ indoor soccer team, has received an excellent local premiere at Wright State University.
(left to right) Bridget Lorenz, Jessica Greenwald, Julie Deye, Margo Russ, Mady McCabe, Lauren Eifert, Caroline Utz, Tina Hohman, and Megan Ledford are the titular team in Wright State University’s local premiere of Sarah DeLappe’s “The Wolves,” continuing through Feb. 16 in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center. (Photo by W. Stuart McDowell)
In this delightfully chatty and incredibly insightful one-act, nine nameless teenagers walking the delicate balance between giddy adolescence and confident womanhood gather for a series of unsupervised practice drills. Unsurprisingly, the topics on their bubbly, curious, information-overloaded minds are colorfully wide-ranging. Cambodia? Check. Abu Ghraib prison? Check. Feminine health? Check. Feminism? Check. Kids in cages? Check. Instagram? Check. Jude Law? Check. Game of Thrones? Check. As their conversations evolve into deeper explorations of betrayal, class, jealousy, miscommunication, and grief, DeLappe ultimately brings this team to a renewed sense of maturity. By the end, and in spite of great differences, there’s no question how vital they have become to one another. They have been forever changed as a family of sisters bonded by the higher goal of acceptance, connection, love, and mutual respect.
In this delightfully chatty and incredibly insightful one-act, nine nameless teenagers walking the delicate balance between giddy adolescence and confident womanhood gather for a series of unsupervised practice drills. Unsurprisingly, the topics on their bubbly, curious, information-overloaded minds are colorfully wide-ranging. Cambodia? Check. Abu Ghraib prison? Check. Feminine health? Check. Feminism? Check. Kids in cages? Check. Instagram? Check. Jude Law? Check. Game of Thrones? Check. As their conversations evolve into deeper explorations of betrayal, class, jealousy, miscommunication, and grief, DeLappe ultimately brings this team to a renewed sense of maturity. By the end, and in spite of great differences, there’s no question how vital they have become to one another. They have been forever changed as a family of sisters bonded by the higher goal of acceptance, connection, love, and mutual respect.
Mady McCabe (No. 00 – Goalie) in Wright State University’s local premiere of Sarah DeLappe’s “The Wolves,” continuing through Feb. 16 in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center. (Contributed photo)
Breezily directed by Marya Spring Cordes with an astute awareness of peaks, valleys and subtleties within casually overlapping conversation (an equally significant attribute of her 2018 Human Race Theatre Company production of Brighton Beach Memoirs), The Wolves features wonderfully compatible actresses. The strong, believably athletic cast consists of quietly reserved and focused Mady McCabe (No. 00 – Goalie) endearingly sweet Megan Ledford (No. 2 – Defense), sensitive Julie Deye (No. 8 – Defense), snarky jokester Jessica Greenwald (No. 13 – Midfield), formidable Bridget Lorenz (No. 14 – Midfield), terrifically firm Tina Hohman (No. 25 – Defense and Team Captain), effective outsider Caroline Utz (No. 46 – Bench), poignant Sophie Kirk (Soccer Mom), and breakthrough performers Lauren Eifert (dynamic as the competitive, intimidating and foul-mouthed No. 7 – Striker) and Margo Russ (vibrant as the opinionated, commanding and current affairs-savvy No. 11 – Midfield).
In addition to providing scene changes fittingly set to tuneful female empowerment anthems from pop divas Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, Cordes assembles a top-notch production team. Carleigh Siebert’s eye-catching set, expertly co-lit by designers Matthew J. Benjamin and Gabe Reichert, supplies a huge, ascending AstroTurf design complete with large netting in front of the stage, heightening the action’s immediacy. Costumer Victoria Gifford appropriately ensures athletic uniformity. James Dunlap’s sound design is clear and crisp.
The cast of Wright State University’s local premiere of Sarah DeLappe’s “The Wolves,” continuing through Feb. 16 in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center. (Contributed photo)
There’s a reason why The Wolves is one of the most popular plays in the country. Akin to Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women), DeLappe has a unique, cross-generational gift for witty, whip-smart dialogue and creating relatable angst among women that is incredibly entertaining and palpable. So, make sure you catch this singular experience. These ladies are in it to win it.
The Wolves continues through Feb. 16 in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center at Wright State University, 3640 Col. Glen Hwy., Dayton. Performances are 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. The play is performed in 95 minutes without intermission. Tickets are $15-$25. For tickets or more information, call (937) 775-2500 or visit wright.edu/tdmp. Patrons are advised the play contains strong language.
