Floyd's Is A Poignant Delight

It's starting to feel like Lynn Nottage is the only name I've heard in theater the last few years. I'm ok with that. 

Photo by T Charles Erickson

The famous don't always live up to their reputation, but Lynn Nottage sure does.

Photo by T Charles Erickson

The Guthrie made no secret of the fact that Nottage was debuting a world premiere new composition this season as a companion piece to her history-making play Sweat, which won the 2017 Pulitzer and made her the first woman (and first African American woman) in history to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama a second time. While I haven't seen Sweat myself (just heard innumerable glowing recommendations from everyone else who has), I have to say that if it's anything like Floyd's, the hype is very real.

Photo by T Charles Erickson

Floyd's takes place in the back kitchen of a sandwich restaurant of the same name, where all of the employees are formerly incarcerated people. They all struggle to find careers and stable lives after leaving prison, and Floyd's is the first place willing to hire them and pay them a decent wage to hep them get on their feet. The only problem? Floyd, the owner, is a truly negative person. She abuses the employees physically and verbally, flies off the handle at any given time, and takes full advantage of the fact that she knows - and they know - that as much as they don't like her, there is nowhere else they can go to get back on their feet. Little by little, we learn the backstory of each employee and how it infuses their time at Floyd's and dreams for the future. The slow reveal of their lives is one of the most poignant elements of Floyd's so I won't spoil it here, but suffice it to say, it's a long overdue humanization of a very American problem that is beautifully written and acted.

Photo by T Charles Erickson

This tight-knit cast is filled with Guthrie debuts, like Floyd's itself. At the heart is a long-term favorite of mine, Dame Jasmine Hughes, who shines as Letitia in scene-stealing cameos. I can't believe it's her first time on a Guthrie stage and I'm certain it will not be her last. John Earl Jelks is wonderful as the zen-master Montrellous, lending wisdom and poise to every line. Reza Salazar is another scene stealer as the energetic Rafael; he demonstrates big heart through is performance that won the whole audience over. Andrew Veenstra gives the former white nationalist Jason a surprising amount of depth, inserting nuance into a very important stereotype these days. And Johanna Day is deliciously, heartbreakingly cruel as Floyd. Day is like the Cruella de Vil of the formerly incarcerated, and she clearly relishes the role.

Photo by T Charles Erickson

The set, designed by Laura Jellinek, cleverly opens like an aperture from an initial small vignette into a larger wide-screen, workable kitchen. It reminded me quite a bit of Mixed Blood's How to Use a Knife a couple of years ago, and it never wavers from the image of a simple prep kitchen. Jennifer Moeller's costume design is similarly straightforward. Christopher Akerlind hides all sorts of cherries into his nuanced lighting design, with special spotlights and special effects enhancing the dialogue. Justin Hicks' original music is a great background to the pauses between vignettes and gives the cast plenty of charisma to work with. And Director Kate Whoriskey has clearly provided a singular, clear vision for Floyd's that is beautifully executed by the rest of the wider production team.

Photo by T Charles Erickson

I am predisposed to enjoy shows that have a social / political message, and Floyd's fits right into my sweet spot. It's my second Lynn Nottage play (after the magnificent Ruined I saw at Mixed Blood several years ago - my first glorious time seeing Regina Marie Williams on stage), and I have a lot of catching up to do on the rest of her work. It's exciting to see the momentum mounting in the theater community towards commissioning and producing new work that reflects our current way of life, rather than constantly re-hashing old "classics" that may not have as much to say about our modern dilemmas. Nottage is a master at embedding a nuanced, believable, direct message into a highly entertaining package, and Floyd's is accessible and enjoyable for any kind of audience. I highly encourage anyone able to check out the show; click here for more information or to buy tickets before Floyd's closes on August 31.

Also: make sure your stop at the Guthrie isn't your only engagement with this subject matter. Floyd's might be a fictional play, but it represents very real problems. All Square, a restaurant in South Minneapolis, is a living embodiment of the issues raised in Floyd's. Make sure to visit All Square to get some delicious sandwiches and pay it forward to the formerly incarcerated community.