Theater Review: Trestle at Pope Lick Creek

by Jenni Stewart

Kitchen Dog Theater upheld its mission of challenging our moral and social consciences with its newest piece, Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, which opened this weekend.

Trestle at Pope Lick Creek is playwright Naomi Wallace’s haunting depression era coming-of-age tale about two teenagers, Dalton Chance and Pace Creagan, and their struggle to find meaning in a world that has lost all sense of identity. Their struggle, personified through their race to beat the train across the trestle over Pope Lick Creek is mirrored in the stories of Dalton’s parents and a man who becomes his jailer.

The two youths, played by SMU students Lucinda Rogers and Colter O’Ryan Smith haunt you with their chemistry and intensity. The pair, however, has a hard time keeping up with theater veterans Shelley Tharp Payton as Dalton’s mother and Raphael Parry as Chas Weaver, Dalton’s Jailer.

Ms. Tharp Payton and Mr. Parry drive the dramatic arc of the piece making you feel like a voyeur as you unlock another sad secret of their life. In fact, one of the highlights of the play is a scene between Nicholas Randolph Venceil as Dalton’s father and Mr. Parry as they explore the duality of the depression era - both that of overwhelming heartbreak and the comedy that results as a desire to survive.

The technical elements of the play were minimal highlighting the sparseness of the era. Lighting, designed by Suzanne Lavender, set the somber mood of the play and played with shadows which became a motif of the play. Set design by Elizabeth Mead was dominated by a perilous looking trestle built to the ceiling which increased the suspense every time a player made the climb on top of it.

Director Tim Johnson used the space efficiently as I especially enjoyed the choice to keep the jailer and Dalton’s father onstage to bear witness to the events along with the audience.

Ms. Wallace and Mr. Johnson have created a powerful piece that explores the effects of politics on society. Trestle at Pope Lick Creek serves as a bittersweet reminder of how humanity is affected by our ever changing political spectrum.

The show runs through March 15 at McKinney Avenue Contemporary and tickets can be purchased online or by calling 214-953-1055.