Review of To Catch a Fish at TimeLine Theatre Company

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called To Catch a Fish. It was by Brett Neveu and it was directed by Ron OJ Parson. It was about a man named Terry (Geno Walker) who was living with his grandma Brenda (Linda Bright Clay), and he had just started a new job giving out flyers for a "store," run by Dex (Stephen Walker) and his partners Ike (Jay Worthington) and Regina (AnJi White). Terry's cousin Dontre (Al'Jaleel McGhee) and his girlfriend Rochelle (Tiffany Addison) are suspicious about what is really going on at this "store." It is about trying to take charge of your life, injustice, and love in its different forms. I think this is a really beautifully written and really well-acted show.

I thought the sound (David Kelepha Samba), lighting (Mike Durst), and set (Regina García) were all fantastic for this show. I don't always pay attention to those things, but those elements were used for very meaningful moments and helped you pay attention to the characters as well as giving you a sense of the surroundings. At the very beginning of the play there is a blue spotlight on Terry at the center of the stage while there is a sound of water whooshing past. He is looking around in awe, and you learn throughout the play about how much he loves fishing and how that is one of the things that relaxes him and makes him feel at home. You never actually get to see him go fishing, but at this moment you get to see how he feels about fishing and the reflection of the water and it is just a really powerful contrast with the next scene in the play where Ike is talking aggressively to Terry about how he need to date more girls rather than sticking with the one that he has. They are clearly in a crappy lot by the warehouse and Terry seems uncomfortable. The set had so many different components and different locations, but they made it specific enough that you felt like you were there but it wasn't hyperrealistic, which I think is good for this play because it deals with real issues but has poetic elements.

There are several different types of love showcased in this play. The relationship between Terry and his Grandma is very sweet. You can see she is very protective of him and just wants him to be safe because she made a mistake when he was younger and she doesn't want anything like that to happen ever again. But she also comes to understand that he is a grown man even if he has brain damage and he can make decisions for himself. She has to let go the same way as she had to with Dontre, her other grandson. She is a very stern grandma, but everything she does is clearly out of love, which makes her an interesting and lovable character. Dontre and Terry's relationship is hard to explain. They clearly love each other, but Dontre is also infuriated by Terry. They have many scenes together where Dontre asks Terry questions he doesn't understand and Dontre will get angry at Terry as a result, but then he will apologize and try to explain better. It seems like he has good intentions but doesn't handle frustration well. He clearly does want a good relationship with Terry; he just doesn't understand how he can do that. And there is also romantic love between Terry and Rochelle. Rochelle seems to admire him and think that he is beautiful and different. I think a lot of other people don't see past his disability, but this character does and she doesn't try to limit him. And Terry just seems to be truly happy around her, and he just wants to make her happy even when he doesn't fully know how. There is a very big event at the end of act one that I want to talk about because it shows how complicated the relationship is, so if you want to hear my opinion about it, you can read it at Ada Grey Spoils It for You.

I think it is cool how it feels like there are two different worlds in this play. One is the community of people who live there and the other is these outsiders (Dex, Ike, and Regina) who have set up the store. The scenes at the warehouse all sounded different from the rest of the play, and I think it is really interesting to think of those as a different type of writing. It reminded me of American Buffalo because all the talking is aggressive and high stakes even though what they are talking about might be ridiculous. And also the relationships are similar. There is a boss and a hothead and a kid they are taking advantage of. The difference is there is an additional character, Regina, who is trying to keep things together and feels like an outsider--kind of a Bobby-Donny combo. It is really interesting to see Regina show up later in the other world of the community and also to see Dontre and Rochelle come into the warehouse world.

People who would like this show are people who like peaceful fishing, stern and lovable grandmas, and suspicious stores. I think that this is such an intriguing, well-performed, and visually, aurally, and emotionally stunning show. I really enjoyed it.

Photos: Lara Goetsch