Capital Fringe Review: The Afflicted

by Andrew L. Baughman

The Wandering Theatre Company’s movement/dance-infused ensemble piece

The Afflicted follows a Writer’s (Joelle Golda) process to compile research
about the girls who ignited the Salem Witch trials. As plays about writing a
research paper go, it’s pretty engaging. But is it engaging enough to pick over
the 130-million-odd other options at Fringe? It’s time to put The Afflicted on
trial.

First of all, didn’t Arthur Miller already cover all of this? Not exactly. Wan-
dering Theatre Company winningly reinvents the wheel by shifting focus
from the tribulations John Proctor and a bunch of old white dead dudes, to the
lesser-known (and far more compelling) young women of Salem; and if
there’s one thing any parent, high-school educator or former teen boy
knows... teenage girls can be pretty scary sometimes.

Writer/Director Natalie Villamonte Zito conjures some moments of brilliance

through stage picture and ensemble movement (I will forever have night-
mares about the contorted “possessed” girls in one sequence). Her Stoppard-
esque script seamlessly blends contemporary and Puritan-era action. For bet-
ter and worse, the entire production has a collegiate feel to it, which works
more in favor of the actors playing teenage girls than those playing “adults.”
Libby McKnight stands out in a thrillingly wry performance as Mary Wal-
cott, and Roni Laytin is downright angelic as Betty Parris. Claudia Givings,
though not given much dimension in the text as Tituba, proves that she is a
beautiful and mesmerizing dancer who should develop her own solo show for
next Fringe. Christian Steckel’s sophisticated lighting design defies all logic
of Fringe production. Perhaps he sold his soul to the Devil?

Then there are issues. First and foremost, an ill-conceived (and executed)
sound design nearly torpedoes the entire production with painfully loud lev-
els, periodic buzzing, and some poor audio mixing/transitions. The cluttered
set illustrates yet again that “less is more” at fringe. Zito also makes a number
of directorial choices that fall flat in a big way. At one intense moment, the
stage washes over in red, the gates of hell open and out pours a pack of de-
monic... rabbits? Then at the climactic moment of the show, the afflicted
young women break out into what I can only describe as “Jazzercize.” This
moment is unfortunately timed right after The Writer proclaims “This is f-ing
absurd! This is all f-ing absurd.”

So what’s the verdict? There’s a lot of mitigating evidence here, and the fact
that tips the scale in favor Wandering Theatre for me is that the show clocks
in at just under one hour (as opposed to the 90 minutes listed in the Fringe
catalogue). In my book, that makes it worth a stop for anyone who is fasci-
nated by this period of American History. A lot of hard work has gone into
this production, and this ensemble company shows promise. It also provides a
perfect companion piece to outrageous D.C. State Player’s Present
Agamemnon, also appearing at GALA, so make a night of it. No doubt Mr.
Bollocks and Mr. Sweetbottom will be in the audience taking some notes.

Running time: 55 minutes

The Afflicted plays through July 21, 2013 at GALA Hispanic Theatre at

Tivoli - 3333 14th Street NW, in Washington, DC. For performance times
and to purchase tickets, visit the show’s Capital Fringe page.

3 Stars