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Theater Review: America in One Room

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SARASOTA – Jason Odell Williams’America in One Roomwas commissioned by the Florida Studio Theatre during the COVID shutdown. The "don't judge a book by its cover" storyline has been done to death, but applying it to the divisive political landscape of 2020 America proves a worthy endeavor.

The story is based on a real-world event by the same name that took place the year before, in which a large, diverse group of citizens were brought together in perhaps the largest political focus group of all time.

In Williams' version, we meet some familiar archetypes, most of whom are bound to strike a chord with audience members. The potential trap in a play like this is creating characters that are too archetypical, one-dimensional stereotypes who come off as cartoonish caricatures of such people. The thing is, most of the characters do come off as cartoonish, yet none of them fail to ring true. They are lifelike to the extreme, which, for all of Williams' efforts to spotlight a silver lining may be the best commentary on modern American political culture.

The production was evenly cast, avoiding the most common pitfall of an ensemble production. Nonetheless, standout performances included Lipica Sha as Rani, an angry minority female, and Sarah Stockton, who did a magnificent job as the facilitator. Sheffield Chastain gave a performance as a prototypical older white male who sees the America he knew slipping away that is sure to ring true to many viewers.

America in One Room is a valuable snapshot of our current socio-political malaise and should make for good post-theater conversations among attendees. It runs through February 27. Visit the FST website for schedule and ticket info.

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