Publicized with a cheerfully vague, rainbow-colored poster, “My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theatre” drew a diverse audience to Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre on its fifth and final sold out show on March 4. Audiences were notified in advance of “some strong language, slaying, Queer space, and hot joy;” the writers kept their promise.
Smith alumna Diana “Zaza” Oh ‘08 wrote and directed the play, returning to the spaces they worked in in their time here as a Theater major. In the spirit of Smith Theatre, Oh cast Smith students and faculty alike to create a small band of misfit actors, some of whom were acting for the first time.
Despite the niche conflict foreshadowed in the title, families, students and community members of all disciplinary backgrounds were drawn together to ruminate on a specific, yet surprisingly applicable question: how do contemporary playwrights and members of the theater community grapple with what theater stands for?
There was no predictable moment in this show, even before it began. The welcome table held stacks of programs, dramaturgical notes and a welcome note, but its centerpiece was a large bowl of multicolored crayons. Audience members were invited to take one or a handful as they stepped inside, opening their programs to find a faux 20 dollar bill with the head of a scruffy brown dog in place of Andrew Jackson’s headshot.
The crew embraced the Black Box with a bare set; chairs were set in a half-circle formation facing the audience, in which the actors sat waiting for the show to begin. With the curtains drawn behind them, the set emphasized the intimate environment of Hallie Flanagan.
The first third of the play was a series of vignettes addressing ‘The Things’: a list of systems, events and facets of the theater world that Oh felt frustrated by, creating space for conversations they felt were long overdue. The list ranged from sexual harassment policies to “The White Woman Lead” to programs. Its darker moments were punctuated by “William Fucking Shakespeare” and Thing #5: Galas, which was a joyfully sarcastic allegory in which animals on a farm were organized into a social hierarchy by the big bad farmer.
Each vignette — thoughtful, dark and joyously over the top — carefully captured the desperation the theater community feels about their own craft. Still, there was hope. In a moment of confidence, a cast member shouted, “This play is about naming the elephant in the room. This play is about making the elephant our bitch.”
The second section slowed to a thoughtful conversation turned couple’s therapy session between a ‘Human’ and a personified ‘Theater.’ The conversation was moderated by none other than Brené Brown and Esther Perel. With his false apologies and insistence that ‘Human’ should just forget about the “things,” ‘Theater’ was clearly the one in the wrong in the relationship. ‘Human’s’ reluctance to finalize a “breakup” imitated the chaotic push and pull in every theater person’s head. Their conversation was long, thoughtful and emotionally heavy. It wrestled with the guilt theater people feel creating their work while having no choice but to rely on the systems that enforce injustice in the theater world. Watching the “breakup” was exhausting, but felt like a release for those on stage, the director and for everyone else in the room. Despite recognizing the hardships, the message to theater people everywhere was simple: “create your dope shit.”
Despite being presented as a “H8 letter,” the play was secretly a love letter. At the beginning of the play’s third section, the once bare set was gone in an instant when the backdropped curtains were raised to reveal inflatable flamingo floaties, the cast dressed in wonderfully exuberant outfits (heeled boots, tiny shorts, sparkly bras) and glitter everywhere. Audience member Margot Audero ’26 said it was “like a dream world coming to life.” Lady Gaga blaring, the new scene was a celebration of the possibility for joyful expression through theater.
The play closed out with a confessional story time with educator and playwright Toby Davis ‘03, where he told the story of his life in the context of a difficult relationship with theater. In an echo of the play’s restorative trajectory, Davis spoke about being trans as a student at Smith, how his roles supported his identity and tore him down, and how he can now fully embrace both sides theater has to offer as a faculty member in the Theatre department.
Overall, “My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theatre” was perfectly self-conscious of the fact that it, too, was rooted in the systems it criticized. Its production relied on low pay, a foundation of overdone Shakespeare plays and the weight of the expectation to create something ‘correctly.’ Even then, the play refused to fit into traditional boundaries. Perhaps — or maybe thanks to — the absurd amount of glitter and f-bombs, the play was thoughtful, insightful and articulate in its analysis of how theater has wronged us — and why we should keep moving forward.
