The estranged members of the Lafayette clan have returned to their crumbling Arkansas plantation home to settle the estate of their recently deceased patriarch. As they sort through a lifetime of their father’s junk and hoarded mementos, a disturbing and horrifying discovery surfaces, confronting the family with more than what to do with a house full of stuff. Can a lifetime of clutter disguise the true nature of what lies beneath?

The Story

The Reason

When we first chose Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins for the season, I had no idea it would end up on Broadway and be nominated for eight Tony awards before we even had a chance to stage it. That says a lot about this play. Seeing it in New York just confirmed for me why we chose the play in the first place.

This is our season of “Nature versus Nurture” and Appropriate explores how our thoughts and ideas are born and cultivated within us based on our own individual experiences, feelings, and memories. The three siblings in the play had the same father, yet they each had a different relationship with him. They were given the same opportunities but chose differently what to do with them. They all had the same values instilled in them yet have a set that is uniquely their own. One’s ability to give and receive nurturing changes through lived experiences, life changes, and evolving beliefs. Nurturing is sometimes embedded in how we perceive the giver, making it an individual experience. Do we receive it? Do we turn our backs on it? Do we rebel against it? Does the giver rescind it? What we choose to do with our own circumstances is very much a part of our nature.

Toni has a line in the play that says, “Or is family a bunch of mismatched memories. Stories you tell yourself when you need an excuse to explain why you feel trapped, or broken, or cheated.” Our relationship with an individual can be very different from someone else’s. Our own nature sometimes limits us in the ability to be nurtured.

Fun fact: Cicadas have no ability to hear and therefore cannot hear how loud they are. This family is the same.

Please enjoy our production of Appropriate.