Green Whales at Historic Hoover Theater

IFFY DATE: Karen (Gloria McDonald) is 38 going on 13, which complicates her relationship with Ian (Keith C. Marshall).

San Jose’s Renegade Theatre Experiment brings to an end its 10th-year anniversary season with Lia Romeo’s bizarre romantic comedy Green Whales. Under the direction of Ana-Catrina Buscher, the cast takes a risk, touching on the sensitive subject of pedophilia, and it pays off, unexpectedly, with major laughs. 

Karen Wilson, played by Gloria McDonald, is a 38-year-old professor who finds herself consistently without a date. Karen suffers from Turner Syndrome, a genetic condition in which a woman doesn’t have the usual two X chromosomes. It can cause many different side effects, but in Karen’s case, she never aged past her preteens in appearance. She looks like a pre-pubescent 13-year-old, and every man she’s ever dated can’t get past that fact. Her condition gives the classic love story an unconventional twist.

Karen returns home to New Jersey after her mother’s passing and falls into the hands of her drunken sister, Joanna, who works out a plan to find Karen a man. Joanna, played by Sara Luna, has decided that if a man can’t accept Karen for looking too young for her age, then maybe he will accept her as a 13-year-old girl. This fabrication touches on the very touchy subject of pedophilia. In the process, Karen meets Ian (Keith C. Marshall), who has been marred by past relationship problems. He is attracted to Karen’s youthful exuberance. Ian believes she’s only 13 years old and knows that the age difference is inappropriate, but he feels a deeper connection to Karen that he can’t let go.

Green Whales looks past its shocking subject to see the honest connections between people. Joanna may be urging her sister to find someone, but it’s her own relationship, with a man named Ray (Michael Wayne Rice), that drives her to drink. Their romance is rocked by Joanna’s desire to marry and Ray’s fear of losing his independence.

McDonald’s nervous manner conjures up the manner of a preteen girl who is unsure of her words, movements and emotions. Albeit cast in the awkward role of a possible pedophile, Marshall evinces enough sincerity as Ian to let us know that there’s more to him than meets the eye.

Luna’s ability to go from dumb to sexy to serious adds to the complexity of Joanna. Her emotions are written across her face, and her impulsive movements and perfect timing generate laughs every time. Rice, with his facial expressions and eyebrow-raising glances, adds depth to the character of Ray in a performance that is comedic and dramatic all rolled into one.

Green Whales
Runs through Feb 25; $12.50-$27.50
Historic Hoover Theater

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