The bond between a beloved pet and its human is a powerful thing. Animals can draw a person out of depression, provide a sense of purpose and comfort a lonely heart — and when relationships fall apart, the question of pet custody can be as painful as any other aspect of breaking up. These emotions and more are triggered by the English bulldog that gives her name to “Gorgeous,” a new play by Keiko Green now onstage at Raven Theatre in a co-production with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble.
Kirsten Fitzgerald directs the world premiere of Green’s dramedy about an unlikely friendship, which has its touching moments, even if some of the narrative turns and tonal shifts feel rather sudden or far-fetched. In this two-hander, Stephanie Shum plays Jenny, a young Japanese American woman who works as a certified nursing assistant and is mourning the recent death of her partner Bill, an older man who was her patient before the two formed a relationship. As she sorts through old belongings in Bill’s suburban Georgia home, which he has left to her, Jenny is startled by a middle-aged woman appearing in her garage.
Bernie, played by Rivendell artistic director Tara Mallen, turns out to be Bill’s estranged wife, and she has returned to lay claim to the house. After threatening legal action, she offers Jenny an alternative option: keep the house but hand over Gorgeous, who used to belong to both Bernie and Bill. The problem? Jenny is deeply attached to the bulldog, having trained and exhibited her in dog shows, where Gorgeous has established herself as a prize-winning competitor with a promising future.
Mallen’s character is a blunt, irreverent woman with a thick Southern accent, a tendency toward microaggressions and a talent for manipulation. She also delivers most of the play’s best one-liners. During Bill’s funeral, Bernie arrives late wearing oversized sunglasses and conspicuously sits in the front row during Jenny’s moving eulogy, after which she crashes the stage to hurl expletives at her husband’s corpse. Her explosive personality and underhand tactics constantly antagonize Jenny, a down-to-earth woman who’s more or less content staying in her small hometown despite often being treated like an outsider.
Over a series of confrontations between the two women, secrets emerge about Bill’s past that make Jenny question the man she thought she knew, while Bernie’s bitterness becomes more understandable. Domestic abuse and anti-Asian racism are two of the heavier subjects addressed in the show, which takes some dark turns — especially with one startling visual created by scenic designer Mara Ishihara Zinky and props designer Paloma Locsin.
After so much tension, Green’s resolution feels somewhat too convenient. I also have mixed feelings about the real dog who steals the final scenes; she’s an adorable crowd pleaser, but her presence distracts from the actors’ delivery of some key dialogue. All in all, though, “Gorgeous” is worth seeing for its vividly rendered characters and its thoughtful exploration of grief, loneliness and the complicated legacy of one man for the women who survive him.
