Theater review by Raven Snook
Libby Carr's achingly humane Calf Scramble is set in a sweltering barn where the cattle aren’t the only ones feeling penned in. Five teenage girls in Huntsville, Texas, are competing to win prize money by raising calves for their Future Farmers of America projects in 2007. The confident Vivvy (Marvelyn Ramirez), bred on a ranch, is the group’s de facto leader; her happy acolytes include the sassy preacher's daughter Anna Lee (Ferin Bergen), the ultra-devout Maren (Maaike Laanstra-Corn) and the accommodating El (Gabriela Veciana). But El's ambitious and overcommitted bestie, Sofi (Elisa Tarquinio), isn't so easily corralled.
Calf Scramble | Photograph: Courtesy James Leynse
On Cate McCrae's woodchip-strewn set, cooled by four industrial fans, the girls bond and bicker (sometimes over liquor) as they tend to their heifers and haltingly discuss their faith, relationships and futures. Religion and prison rule their insular and conservative community, where everyone seems connected to an inmate or a corrections officer. The headstrong Sofi hopes that winning the calf contest could be her ticket out, but her cohorts have more domestic dreams, even the ones who are too scared to reveal their authentic selves for fear of the town's wrath.
In a powerful piece of double casting, the five performers also play the calves. Guided by Caitlin Sullivan's assured direction and Hannah Garner's expressive movement, they fluidly transform from wranglers to livestock, underlining parallels between their circumscribed existences. As the line between the girls and the calves becomes increasingly blurry, so does the play: Beautifully observed interactions give way to bluntness, and the rainstorm climax feels particularly overwrought. But this play, like its characters, has a good deal going for it, especially five rich roles for young women acted with compassion, humor and heartbreak by an excellent ensemble. Calf Scramble may not take the blue ribbon, but it's worthy of honorable mention.
Calf Scramble. Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (Off Broadway). By Libby Carr. Directed by Caitlin Sullivan. With Ferin Bergen, Maaike Laanstra-Corn, Marvelyn Ramirez, Elisa Tarquinio, Gabriela Veciana. Running time: 1hr 30mins. No intermission.
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Calf Scramble | Photograph: Courtesy James Leynse
