By Beulah F. Vega

When playwright Will Arbery was asked what his play Heroes of the Fourth Turning was about, he had a simple answer: “Listening.” Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre has a production closing Saturday, September 21 with a 1:00 pm matinee performance at The California.

Set in 2017 soon after the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency, three very different alumni of a small Catholic college in Wyoming meet up to celebrate the appointment of one of their professors, Gina (Lisa Flato), to the College presidency.  As midnight approaches, we meet them at the afterparty hosted by ex-marine Justin (Brandon Kraus). Emily (Allie Nordby) is not an alumnus of the college but is Gina’s adult daughter and is plagued by a mysterious illness. Kevin (Logan Witthaus) is questioning his faith and everything else through the filter of Jack Daniels. Teresa (Jessica Headington) is a conservative firebrand from New York who is desperate for the approval of her old professor.

As with all small communities this one has plenty of secrets, complicated relationships, and unspoken grievances.  It all comes to a head when a question from Kevin pits Teresa and Gina against each other and all hell (maybe literally) breaks loose.

This is a challenging script to produce. Director Skylar Evans and the cast gamely meet that challenge head on, but don’t meet it equally throughout the show.

For instance, the confrontation between Flato and Headington is a highly nuanced, beautifully acted scene. With both playing off each other in a way that breaks through any superficiality and shows us two fully realized, grounded, and vulnerable human beings.

Unfortunately, there are also moments – especially in the first half – where big emotional moments are not earned, acting choices are superficial, and Kraus’s lines are inaudible.

This unevenness is a problem in a show that is essentially three hours of talking.

Arbery is clear that he is not trying to justify or vindicate either side of the political spectrum, but instead he is trying to get audiences to think. In our dangerously partisan political environment, that is almost impossible to get people to do, let alone give any thought to the humanity of the ‘other side.’

Arbery is correct. Without the ability to truly listen to each other and the grace to afford our opponents the respect due to any other human being we will never rectify our fractured society.

The production isn’t perfect but, like all good art, it does bring an important argument to the forefront.

There are a lot of shows running right now that will make you feel good while asking nothing of you and leaving no lasting impact on the communities they are supposed to be serving.

This show is not one of them, and for that it is worth your time.

Left Edge Theatre’s ‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’ runs through September 21 at The California Theatre. 528 7^th Street, Santa Rosa. Thu – Fri, 7:30pm; Sat., 1pm. $20–$29. 707.664.7529. leftedgetheatre.com

Photos by Dana Hunt