Flex - Penumbra Theatre

After all these years of living in the Twin Cities, and a number of years as a theatre blogger, I finally made the very short trip to the Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul. My friend Jill from Cherry and Spoon had a plus-one to their opening night performance of Flex by Candrice Jones, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to see a new show at a new-to-me space. Plus, I was told that there was an opening night party/buffet hosted before the performance (which I'm thinking is the best time to do any sort of opening night snacks/drinks). Clearly that was not the main event, though the spread was pretty amazing, and the deserts were fantastic.

The main event was the play Flex, a wonderful work about a high school girls basketball team in rural Arkansas. Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene, the cast of six (three of whom are making their Penumbra debut) was excellent. The team, led by team captain Starra Jones (Eboni Edwards) is making it's way to State, and Starra, Sidney Brown (Kalala Kiwanuka-Worenie), and April Jenkins (Aubree Chanel Dixon) are hoping to get scouted for their talent and get out of their small town. The year is 1998 and these three have goals..including the newly created WNBA. That is not to say that Cherise Howard (Tyra Lee Ramsey) or Donna Cunningham (Charlotte McDaniel) don't have goals, but it felt to me that these two characters had the self-knowledge that they were High School good, but maybe not College good. 

The show opens and we see this team at practice, all looking a little pregnant. It is an odd visual and the reason why becomes clear. Coach Francine Page (Regina Marie Williams) has a rule that if one of the girls gets pregnant, she is not allowed to play anymore. The team works together in hopes of showing Coach that they can still hustle, and that April (who turns out to be pregnant) can still play safely through the State Championship. The coach says no, and explains her reasons. The plot through line is will this team make it to State...but that is so simple. Layered on top of that action plot is the issue of the team having a pact to not have sex until after they get back from State, yet April is pregnant. There is the issue of if April will end the pregnancy so that she can continue? There is also another plot line that is revealed that really breaks down the team.

The work deftly resolves these issues but not without some conflict, forgiveness, grace, and understanding. In the process we learn about the hard lives of these girls, and we see them begin to truly understand each other, and recognize each other for their strengths. We see them learn to work as a team. It is a really fun, and at times funny, work that touches on some serious issues. And if you know a little about basketball, it helps. If not, you will learn. Especially the Flex offense.