![[CREDIT: Cat Laine] Donnla Hughes as "Performer," in Gamm's "Girls & Boys" showing till Jan. 19, 2025.](https://warwickpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Gamms-Girls-Boys-2.jpg)
Donnla Hughes as “Performer,” in Gamm’s “Girls & Boys” showing till Jan. 19, 2025.
Donnla Hughes (“Ironbound”), affecting a British accent, recalls how she met her husband (never named) at an airport. He goes on to operate a successful export business while she gets a job working on documentary films. They have two children, a boy and a girl.
Flashbacks show the children battling each other in a series of games and the revelation that the husband’s business failed. He engages in an extramarital affair. The wife finds out and requests a divorce. She remains intently focused on her career. Then life becomes ugly. Very, very ugly.
There is no set, just a bare stage with a single chair used as a prop.
Under the direction of Rachel Walshe (“Doubt: A Parable”), Hughes commands the stage by sheer force of personality. Dennis Kelly’s script features satirical anecdotes such as an encounter with a pair of vapid models and some truly revolting sex.
Kelly also tucks in some political commentary as Hughes notes how truly abysmal our male leaders have been.
The Gamm has requested reviewers refrain from providing any spoilers about what happens in “Girls and Boys.” I will need to tread very carefully here. We hear about a family being torn apart. We discover how this impacts the woman and the way she relates to others.
“Girls and Boys” is not an easy show to sit through. The last 30 minutes or so are unremittingly bleak and deeply unsettling. Some audience members will be mortified by what happens. I know I was.
Do I recommend seeing “Girls & Boys” ?
As a vehicle for Hughes to show her tremendous skill as an actor, this production succeeds brilliantly. As a story, it meanders a bit before finally finding its groove. Let me put it this way: If you’re in the mood for a powerful drama, see it. If you’re looking for a feel good experience, stay far, far away.
Girls and Boys runs through January 19. The Gamm Theatre. 1245 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick. Run time is 110 minutes with no intermission. For tickets, call 401-723-4266 or visit gammtheatre.org.
Author: Joe Siegel
Joe Siegel is a regular contributing writer for WarwickPost.com. His reporting has appeared in The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro and EDGE.
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