Theaterworks Hartford’s production of Sandra, directed by Jared Mezzocchi, is a masterpiece of a love story, where love, as we know it, is as rare and elusive as the “birds that never show up if you go out looking for it.” Sandra is a one-woman psychological thriller that plays like a cautionary tale of the dangers of the impulsivities surrounding our restlessness.
Sandra Jones (Felicia Curry) is a café owner whose life is in the process of a metamorphosis to which she is resistant. After her best friend Ethan Martin’s departure from his life as he knew it, Sandra finds herself making decisions that are outside the scope of her familiarity, searching for answers—where is Ethan? She meets a series of characters on her journey that shake up her normal and force her to unpack her baggage and face herself and some fundamental truths about love.
Curry is a one-woman powerhouse who single-handedly delivers the highs and lows of Sandra. Her storytelling becomes more and more immersive as she traverses between English and a romantic Spanish, even taking on British, Australian, and Italian accents. Curry depicts the nuances of a woman interrupted, allowing us to feel the depth of her desires, the expanse of her empathy, and even the self-destruction of her disheveled yearning.
Marcelo Martínez García’s set design along with Camilla Tassi’s video design, and the lighting design of Amith Chanrashaker and Alex Fetchko create an ambient and minimalistic focal point for the unraveling of David Cale’s play. The projections transport the audience with each shift in scenery, allowing Curry’s narration to transcend the cube-shaped set. Matthew Dean Marsh’s music and Evdoxia Ragkou’s sound design creates a sonically impeccable atmosphere for the story’s unfolding.
Sandra is ridiculously well-done, layering an enthralling story expertly supported by out-of-the-box visual elements and an enchanting performance by Felicia Curry. This production is a masterclass of style and substance, resonating deeply in a culture stuck at a crossroads between true crime documentaries and Eat. Pray. Love ambitions. I’m unsure how any other solo play can live up to the experience that is Sandra.
Catch a showing of Sandra at Theaterworks Hartford through June 23rd! For tickets, visit https://twhartford.org/
