After a lengthy pause, Crystal Skillman’s award-winning play, OPEN, has been given a three-week Off-Broadway run at WP Theater. Celebrating its 47th Season, WP Theater is the oldest and largest theatrical company in the country dedicated to fostering, producing and promoting the work of Women+ at every stage of their artistic development. With LGBTQ rights under heightened threat, bringing OPEN’s heartfelt love story back to the stage could not be better timed. Whatever impression the script left in 2019 has only been amplified by rising violence including a shooting near the fabled Stonewall Inn at the end of Pride Month.
From a darkened space lined with lighting and sound equipment, Kristen invites the audience to join her for a three stage magic act consisting of Love, Commitment, and Sacrifice plus an extra promise. To execute her wizardry, she has dressed in flashy top hat and tails (costume design by Madeline Wall) and taken on the persona of The Magician, a character inspired by “Night by Night” one of her own YA short stories. In it, a boy discovers that his make-believe skill as a conjurer has imbued him with real abilities. In the lengthier version of her tale, he also falls in love with another boy. Kristen hopes that she will experience a similar transformation in her powers as she struggles to reach out to her girlfriend, Jenny.
Over the course of 75 minutes, Kristen shares chapters from her and Jenny’s relationship. She acknowledges that she has been deeply affected by a repressive upbringing in Indiana and lives cautiously: doubting her abilities and never “flaunting” being a lesbian. Jenny, however, is out and singing with joy, surrounded by loving and accepting family and working with LGBT youth. Not only is their meeting magical, but their life together requires all sorts of tricks from the juggling act of their needs to levitating above societal forces. The very word OPEN performs a number of functions as in living openly gay, being open hearted, speaking openly and honestly, and opening the door to opportunity.
Unlike most playwrights with a single character, Skillman does not give voice to her own words. Instead the piece is brought to life by Megan Hill, who previously played The Magician at The Tank. She is not the type of monologist who uses different vocal registers, but rather distinguishes her characters with tone and body language. The most important ingredient in her success is engaging the imagination of audience members which she coaxes and nurtures. The colorful details throughout the script make it easy to see with your inner eye and indeed “conjure” episodes from Kristen and Jenny’s life together. At points, attendees function as magician’s assistants, filling out the invisible visuals with their willing participation.
The genuine slight of hand is performed by the creative team with impressively timed sound by Emma Wilk and lighting by Sarah Johnston (who also designed the set). Director Jessi D. Hill and Magic Consultant Rachel Wax along with Wilk, and Johnston have collaborated beautifully on executing the physicality and visualization of the incantations without a ball, ring or flower in sight.
Inventive, touching, and impactful, OPEN is a unique solo entertainment. Performances continue at WP Theater, 2162 Broadway in New York, through July 27. Tickets are $65 and available at https://wptheater.org/wp-space-program/open/. Pre-show acts and post-show talkbacks will incorporate the talents of the magicians who helped inspire Skillman’s story and the actors who portrayed The Magician in Broadway Licensing productions, drawing a through-line to the powerful role of magic within the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Unforgettable Line 