New #TCTheater company Open Circuit Theatre, whose mission is "artistic resistance, telling stories that disrupt systems of oppression," has chosen for their debut the 2008 play Great Falls by prolific Minnesota-born playwright and Playwrights' Center core writer Lee Blessing. The systems of oppression depicted in this play are, to put it bluntly, men. Or rather, the many patriarchal systems we live under that allow men to abuse and take advantage of women, often with little recourse. Hopefully things are better in the post #MeToo era, but the unnamed young woman in this story has to find her own way through, with the help of her estranged ex-stepfather. Like all Lee Blessing plays, the two-hander Great Falls is brutal but real, with characters that are not always likeable but always human. And this production is a well-done impressive debut for this new theater company. You can see it at the cozy and intimate Hive Collaborative in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood through this weekend only.

Great Falls reminds me a little of another Lee Blessing road trip play, The Family Line, which debuted at Stage North in 2022. In The Family Line, a grandfather has driven across the country to pick up his teenage grandson, whom he's never met, and bring him home, all while negotiating the pandemic and racial unrest in the year that was 2020. In Great Falls, a man known only as "Monkey Man" has picked up his ex-wife's daughter and coerced her into an unexpected road trip. Their marriage fell apart after he admitted his infidelity, and the daughter is understandably hurt and angry at the dissolution of her seemingly somewhat happy family, finally healing after a tragic and traumatic experience with her biological father. Monkey Man wants some sort of connection or resolution with this young woman he considered to be his daughter for many years, but she (who never says her name and doesn't allow him to use it, instead urging him to call her "bitch," which he thankfully never does) wants nothing to do with him. Until she admits that she actually does need his help, and enlists him on an errand in Great Falls, Montana. And like all Lee Blessing plays, there's no neat resolution or happy ending, but we do get a sense that these two damaged and hurting people are a little better off than they were at the start, with a better understanding of and connection with each other.

Reanna Madson and Andy Chambers
(photo courtesy of Open Circuit)
A two-hander hinges on having two actors who are equally strong as individuals, and work together well as a pair, and this play achieves that. Open Circuit's founder Andy Chambers plays the stepdad, walking the line between concerned father and cheating husband, somehow managing to be both sympathetic and also infuriating at times. Reanna Madson gives a great performance as the stepdaughter, portraying both the scared and hurt little girl, and the righteously rageful woman. She allows us to witness the slow opening of the character, only to close up again at a moment's notice. Both actors are very present and believable in their roles.

Under director Ariel Pinkerton, the play doesn't feel rushed or forced as we take this slow road trip across the Midwest and into Montana. The settings change from the car to various hotels or other locations in these different small towns, accomplished neatly by one large set piece that transforms from the car, to twin beds, to a bar, to a couch, and everything else needed. Props are retrieved from hidden compartments, and then stowed again, scene transitions covered by well-chosen music. Projections on the large screen at the back of the stage also set the scene with a map or an image of the location, or moving video of the road behind them during the driving scenes (warning to other people with a tendency for motion sickness, you may need to watch a few of the scenes with your eyes covered, as I did).

While watching this play I had the thought, do we really need another story about a woman being abused, written by a man? Can't we write stories about women who are strong, smart, funny, flawed, human without making them be victims of rape or abuse? It can be a lazy storytelling trope for TV and movies as well. But the sad fact is that rape and sexual abuse still happen, and often isn't reported or talked about, although hopefully it is more now than when this play was written almost 20 years ago. So maybe we do still need these stories, and at least in this case the victim is a smart and tough young woman who makes her own choices, and knows to ask for help when she needs it, even if from an unlikely source like her estranged ex-stepfather. It also helps to have a female director with experience in these issues both in art and in life, bringing a sensitivity and authenticity to the story.