Theater review
Extreme anti- Muslim sentiment has g ripped t he countr y for severa l years, g row i ng to such a deg ree a f ter an act of mass- casua lt y ter rorism t hat Muslims, even A merican citizens, are now rounded up in internment camps, and a ba l lot proposition t hat has been gaining suppor t ca l ls for t hem to be executed. A resista nce movement, of which Jef f and his fa mily are members, brings into t heir home a young, A merican Muslim woman ( Rasha Zamamiri) as she seeks to escape t he countr y, and soon a f ter a knock on t he f ront door announces t he presence of government agent ( Kathleen Mcnenny) investigating t he fa mily.
Though t he actors genera l ly handle t he verba l and emotiona l ex plosions as conv incing ly as t hey can, Askari’s writing feels f undamenta l ly unfair. The agent, in her address to t he audience some minutes before she enters t he stor y proper, says “t here are many sides to any stor y and ... and you’re seeing lit tle selective snippets. So, of “American Underground”
■ When: 3 p. m. Sunday
■ Where: Barrington Stage Company Mainstage, 30 Union St., Pittsfield, Mass.
■ Length: 90 minutes, no intermission
■ Continues: 7 p. m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p. m. Friday and Saturday; matinees, 2 p. m. Saturday and 3 p. m. Sunday. Through Oct. 20.
■ Tickets: $ 15 to $ 50
■ Info: 413- 236- 8888 or barringtonstageco. org course, what you’re going to see is in herently biased.” But a better play would not have been so biased against t he agent, and we as an audience could have had a more nuanced, complex response had Askari g iven her a chance to better make her case. But he didn’t, so we don’t. The result is darn close to propaganda, and t hat ’s bad, coming f rom t he rig ht or t he lef t. ■ ■ ■ ■