Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Now see this, Tay Tay and Miley

Rapture, Blister, Burn at San Diego Repertory Theatre

Jennifer Paredes as "Avery," Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine," Susan Denaker as "Alice"
Jennifer Paredes as "Avery," Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine," Susan Denaker as "Alice"

With celebs like Beyoncé, Emma Watson, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift proudly flying their feminist flags, feminism is having a moment — however superficial. Celebrity feminism often feels more like pandering and marketing, pronouncing trendy refrains and empowerment that have little meaning.

Rapture, Blister, Burn

Taking a deeper look at the movement is Gina Gionfriddo’s very funny Rapture, Blister, Burn. The play presents a debate about the future of feminism and the myth of happily ever after, and provides a more nuanced examination of the tired binary of career versus motherhood. While the story strains credibility, the Rep production boasts a fine cast and top-notch technical elements under Sam Woodhouse’s direction.

Sandy Campbell as "Gwen" and Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine"

When hotshot academic and author Catherine returns to her small New England hometown to care for her mother, old passions and bitterness arise when she confronts her ex-boyfriend, now married to her ex-roommate. Now in their 40s, the three friends from grad school are vaguely unhappy with their lives.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Catherine (Paige Lindsey White) has an enviable career in women’s studies. The possibility of losing her mother strikes Catherine with regrets and doubts about postponing family life.

Turns out a similar midlife envy also afflicts Gwen (Sandy Campbell, humorously uptight), who covets Catherine’s career and feels disappointed by her ambitionless, pot-smoking, porn-addicted husband Don (Shawn Law, exuding slacker charm). A recovering alcoholic who’s replaced drinking with awkward oversharing, Gwen dropped out of grad school and became a stay-at-home mother of two children. Don spends his unchallenging days as dean of a third-rate college, all the while “withering in the black, sunless hell” of Gwen’s disapproval.

It doesn’t take much for Don and Catherine to reignite their relationship as lovers.

Shawn Law as "Don" and Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine"

Through many improbable manipulations and contrivances, Catherine and Gwen agree to switch places — à la a body-swap movie from the ’80s. Dopey but likable Don seems to go along for the ride, and it’s not entirely clear what Catherine sees in him, aside from a shared indulgence in alcohol and bad behavior.

While smart humor and feminist discourse carry the play, it’s difficult to get past the many unrealistic plot setups.

Another somewhat clunky conceit is the summer course Catherine agrees to teach, which allows the playwright to hold forth on the fallout and future of feminism. The class has just two students: Gwen and 21-year-old Avery (Jennifer Paredes), an abrasive, sexually free college student trying to pitch a reality-TV show. Rounding out the multigenerational perspectives is Catherine’s mother Alice (Susan Denaker, funny and endearing), who grew up during the second wave of feminism but largely ignored it.

Between rounds of martinis, the women discuss the history of American feminism and contemporary issues such as pornography, slut-shaming, and the representation of women in horror films.

While the emotional pitch feels off, the cast hits all the right notes with the humor in Gionfriddo’s wordy, at times dense script.

Rapture doesn’t exactly break new ground, and it provides a narrow view on feminism — that of white, upper-middle-class straight women. And despite the women-centric focus, the play only kind of passes the Bechdel text, since the women keep returning to the topic of the men in their lives even as they discuss big ideas. Still, as a primer on feminism and a jumping off point to debate where the movement is going — and for the laughs that come fast and hard — the Rep’s production is worth watching.

It’s also the kind of play Tay Tay and Miley should see.

Playing through May 15

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?

Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
Jennifer Paredes as "Avery," Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine," Susan Denaker as "Alice"
Jennifer Paredes as "Avery," Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine," Susan Denaker as "Alice"

With celebs like Beyoncé, Emma Watson, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift proudly flying their feminist flags, feminism is having a moment — however superficial. Celebrity feminism often feels more like pandering and marketing, pronouncing trendy refrains and empowerment that have little meaning.

Rapture, Blister, Burn

Taking a deeper look at the movement is Gina Gionfriddo’s very funny Rapture, Blister, Burn. The play presents a debate about the future of feminism and the myth of happily ever after, and provides a more nuanced examination of the tired binary of career versus motherhood. While the story strains credibility, the Rep production boasts a fine cast and top-notch technical elements under Sam Woodhouse’s direction.

Sandy Campbell as "Gwen" and Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine"

When hotshot academic and author Catherine returns to her small New England hometown to care for her mother, old passions and bitterness arise when she confronts her ex-boyfriend, now married to her ex-roommate. Now in their 40s, the three friends from grad school are vaguely unhappy with their lives.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Catherine (Paige Lindsey White) has an enviable career in women’s studies. The possibility of losing her mother strikes Catherine with regrets and doubts about postponing family life.

Turns out a similar midlife envy also afflicts Gwen (Sandy Campbell, humorously uptight), who covets Catherine’s career and feels disappointed by her ambitionless, pot-smoking, porn-addicted husband Don (Shawn Law, exuding slacker charm). A recovering alcoholic who’s replaced drinking with awkward oversharing, Gwen dropped out of grad school and became a stay-at-home mother of two children. Don spends his unchallenging days as dean of a third-rate college, all the while “withering in the black, sunless hell” of Gwen’s disapproval.

It doesn’t take much for Don and Catherine to reignite their relationship as lovers.

Shawn Law as "Don" and Paige Lindsey White as "Catherine"

Through many improbable manipulations and contrivances, Catherine and Gwen agree to switch places — à la a body-swap movie from the ’80s. Dopey but likable Don seems to go along for the ride, and it’s not entirely clear what Catherine sees in him, aside from a shared indulgence in alcohol and bad behavior.

While smart humor and feminist discourse carry the play, it’s difficult to get past the many unrealistic plot setups.

Another somewhat clunky conceit is the summer course Catherine agrees to teach, which allows the playwright to hold forth on the fallout and future of feminism. The class has just two students: Gwen and 21-year-old Avery (Jennifer Paredes), an abrasive, sexually free college student trying to pitch a reality-TV show. Rounding out the multigenerational perspectives is Catherine’s mother Alice (Susan Denaker, funny and endearing), who grew up during the second wave of feminism but largely ignored it.

Between rounds of martinis, the women discuss the history of American feminism and contemporary issues such as pornography, slut-shaming, and the representation of women in horror films.

While the emotional pitch feels off, the cast hits all the right notes with the humor in Gionfriddo’s wordy, at times dense script.

Rapture doesn’t exactly break new ground, and it provides a narrow view on feminism — that of white, upper-middle-class straight women. And despite the women-centric focus, the play only kind of passes the Bechdel text, since the women keep returning to the topic of the men in their lives even as they discuss big ideas. Still, as a primer on feminism and a jumping off point to debate where the movement is going — and for the laughs that come fast and hard — the Rep’s production is worth watching.

It’s also the kind of play Tay Tay and Miley should see.

Playing through May 15

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The greatest symphonist of them all

Havergal Brian wrote over 30 of them
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Bending the stage barriers in East Village
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader