SALT LAKE CITY — It’s always exciting to review a world premiere. Plan C, by Andrea D. Peterson, is billed as a look at the challenges of Ginnifer, played by Liz Whittaker, as her life is turned upside down by an unwanted pregnancy. What it really is about is a deep look at the American Health Care system, the challenges and blank holes in women’s health care, and the dark sides that none of us feel ready to talk about.
This type of show is what Pygmalion Theatre does best. Pushing the boundaries and speaking to what women (and men) need to hear. I will first say that as a woman that has had complicated pregnancies, the show was triggering. The show is driven by subject matter, including discussions of sex, abortion, pregnancy loss, and many other natal and women’s health topics. I would absolutely say that this is not a show for young ones or the faint of heart.
The four cast members deliver the message with great care. Joining Whittaker is Nicole Finney playing Ginnifer’s “perfect” sister Sarah though Sarah has skeletons in her own closet. The kind and compassionate Dr. Lewis is played by Paul Naylor and rounding out the cast is Ginnifer and Sarah’s father, Stanley, played by Bobby Cavalier.
Audiences are treated to a deep look at what a person goes through when they find out they are expecting a baby that they did not want. Whittaker takes the writing of Peterson and truly builds a wonderful narrative out of it on the stage. One of the best pieces of the new work was a monologue about parentheses, where the usage of Ginnifer’s profession as a copywriter was intertwined with complications the character found herself in. Whittaker did an impeccable job eliciting both amusement and sympathy from the audience.
The sister relationship between Ginnifer and Sarah was grounded and relatable as it did not shy away from complications. Sarah being afraid to be open about intimacy matched perfectly with Whittaker’s over sharing and mirrored many of the sister relationships I know. The way this relationship played into how major decisions were made to please and appease each other also accurately displayed family trauma. Director Fran Pruyn has done a phenomenal job connecting these human emotions on stage.
Cavalier plays the ideal unexpected father, wanting to say and do the right thing but realizing there is no right thing in these situations. Cavalier’s costumes, designed by Madison Howell Wilkins, added immensely to the plot. The t-shirts chosen for Cavalier gave clues to the personality of Stanley that were confirmed throughout the script. I found this to be one of the most realistic interactions of the show, the connection between the Ginnifer and Stanley. While it is said many times that it is Ginnifer’s body and choice, the feelings of Stanley are real and valid, and Peterson’s writing as well as Pruyn’s direction allowed for these levels of nuance in what can sometimes be discussed as black and white issues.
The show turns to the major difficulties within choices in health care and the understanding of female health and the birth process. I commend the delicate way that Whittaker handled this. As a woman who has suffered pregnancy loss and complication, finding plays that not only discuss but understand a woman’s challenges in these circumstances is rare. At the ending, the technical elements that came together, from the lighting design by Chad Henwood to the haunting sound design by Joe Killian, the final monologue by Whittaker and the ambiguous yet painful ending was beautiful because it allowed for connection to the audience where I could feel one way because of my own experience with pregnancy, choice, and loss, yet others who have had a different experience may see the ending alternatively.
These stories are complicated, political, and real. Sometimes we go to theatre to escape and unwind. Sometimes we go to theatre to think. I am so glad that Pygmalion and Plan C looks at all the sides and gave me a real chance to think.
Plan C produced by Pygnalion Theatre plays Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 4pm, and Sundays at 2pm through May 16th at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 50 w 200 s SLC, UT. Tickets are $24-29. For more information see https://pygmalionproductions.org/shows/plan-c/