Erica Seeing Red

ERICA SEEING RED
By Jay K. Hoffman

This rehearsed reading of the new Jay K. Hoffman play on Wednesday, March 14th, proved to be an interesting evening, leading me to unexpected places. Set in an art gallery and two apartments in London, the story follows the convoluted relationships of Erica, a young sculptor on the verge of her first gallery show. Catia Ojeda does an excellent job of portraying the complex inner life of an artist who both follows in her father’s footsteps and wants to break away from him.

Her boss, Helen, played by Rebecca Baxter, is also the owner of the gallery showing Erica’s work, and in the past was a great admirer of the art of Erica’s father, Sage. Erica has distanced herself from Sage, but Helen remains in contact. Baxter gives a strong performance as a woman torn by circumstances and unsure of the best path to take. Helen comes across as someone who wants to make everything better, but her meddling tends to make things worse—until it is clear that the simmering anger underneath the surface of Erica’s skin is a boil in need of lancing.

Ned is Erica’s business manager who sees himself as her boyfriend, though it is clear that Erica doesn’t view him in that light. Merwin Foard performs ably in this role, showing us a man who cares more than he should for a young woman who obviously sees him as a ‘good’ father figure. Whether he is organizing her finances or calming her as she vents about her encounter with a raccoon, Ned is the person Erica depends on. Still, his own view of her is skewed, as are the other characters in the play.

Perhaps the most unreliable character is Sage, Erica’s father, played by Brad Bellamy. Once a famed painter, blinded in an accident that killed Erica’s mother, he persists in a strange sort of optimism. He is not merely blind in vision, but in reality. Bellamy shows us a man who is not conflicted in his own mind, but only because he has buried his failings so deeply that even he doesn’t see them any more.

As the play progresses, hidden secrets are revealed, and in that revelation the pain and bitterness of the past echoes into the present.

Jay K. Hoffman has written a piece that, through the prism of the art world in London, shows the deep emotional scars of family and relationships. I would be very interested to see a full performance of this piece.