PilgrImage: “The Thanksgiving Play,” at the Black Box Theatre through November 1

While it may seem we’re skipping a holiday and jumping right to Turkey Day, the timing makes sense once you realize that the Black Box Theatre's The Thanksgiving Play isn’t really about Thanksgiving at all. It's not a story of stuffed birds, mashed potatoes, and raucous family dinners. Instead, it focuses on the people who are trying to make sense of how to tell the first-Thanksgiving story, and in doing so, revealing just how tangled and hilarious the process of “getting it right” can be.

Director (and fellow Reader reviewer) Alexander Richardson’s production gives the audience a glimpse into what goes into creating a piece of theatre, especially one burdened with the well-intentioned pressure of being “culturally sensitive.” The result is part satire, part social commentary, and wholly entertaining.

At its core, Larissa FastHorse’s script centers on Logan (Adrienne Evans), a drama teacher tasked with creating a Thanksgiving pageant for elementary-school students that is both historically accurate and respectful of Native American perspectives. On paper, that sounds simple enough – until you consider the minefield that is modern political correctness. According to Richardson’s director’s notes, FastHorse was inspired to write the play after being the only person of color in the room while well-meaning colleagues attempted to devise inclusive programming. That real-life awkwardness forms the backbone of this sharply written comedy.

Is the show funny? Yes. Is it offensive? Possibly. Is it supposed to make you question both reactions? Absolutely. This 90-minute one-act walks a delicate line between laughter and discomfort, and the cast, under Richardson’s direction, maintains the balance masterfully.

Evans’ Logan is, quite frankly, everyone’s expectation of a stereotypical vegan, a trait FastHorse's play gleefully runs with. Consistently retching anytime anyone mentioned animal flesh or products, Evans brought unwavering commitment to her role. Every well-meaning remark hit an air of sincerity that was so endearing that even when laughing at the teacher's ridiculousness, you felt kinda bad about it. Particularly as we learn that 300 parents have signed a petition to have her fired, which alone gives Logan's desperate need for this play to succeed a bittersweet edge.

Thayne Lamb plays Logan's boyfriend Jaxton, a yoga teacher and self-described “professional actor” who is as well-meaning as he is oblivious. Lamb’s delivery captures that specific brand of performative wokeness that’s become all too recognizable. Jaxton fully supports Logan, even when he doesn’t fully understand her, which is most of the time.

Cole McFarren is a delight as Caden, the local historian-turned-wannabe-playwright who has done an absurd amount of research for what should be a simple, 45-minute school pageant. McFarren’s comedic timing is impeccable, but it’s his listening that truly stands out. Even in silence, his facial expressions, ranging from fascination to horror, tell their own story. During moments of chaos, McFarren's subtle reactions often drew as much laughter as the dialogue.

Rounding out the cast is Celeaciya Olvera as Alicia, the professional actress hired to provide an “authentic Indigenous perspective.” The catch is that Alicia is not Indigenous at all; rather it’s one of the looks her agent had her take for her actor headshots. Olvera leans into the absurdity of this setup with charm and confidence. Her character may be a bit dim, but Olvera’s performance is anything but. She effortlessly walks the line between satire and sincerity.

Meanwhile, Lora Adams' scenic design (the set itself built by Richardson, Michael Kopriva, and Kori Ralston) is pitch-perfect in its straight-forwardness. It definitely presents as “typical classroom” with the requisite motivational posters and teacherly decor. (Richardson also uses some traditional theatre lighting, but the space is primarily lit with rectangular fluorescent fixtures: a brilliant touch!) I admit to some slight confusion, as the program says it’s a high-school drama classroom; the design definitely gave off elementary-school vibes. With references to both age groups throughout the production, though, I decided it must be one of those small-town schools where K-12 are housed within the same massive building. And truly, it doesn’t matter so much.

Deserving its own paragraph are the flying mannequin heads. Without spoiling too much, chaos erupts during one of Caden’s more ambitious and authentic “educational” scenes. Logan ducks for cover, props go airborne, and I genuinely feared for the structural integrity of the back wall. Thankfully, everything and everyone survived, and the resulting sequence was the single funniest one on Saturday night. (Please, for the love of all that’s good, watch McFarren and Olvera while Logan is ranting. I may never recover from the lack of oxygen I suffered from laughing so hard.)

One interesting choice was the inclusion of short, Thanksgiving-themed songs and videos between scenes. These set the stage for what was to come, but also gave the audience time to react, be it chuckling at some kiddos miscounting or being shocked at abject horror. These brief interludes serve multiple purposes: they entertain, they reset the audience, and they underscore just how bizarre our collective understanding of the holiday can be. These transitions keep the energy high while allowing the play’s deeper themes to land.

And those themes are where The Thanksgiving Play truly shines. Beneath the jokes and farce lies a thoughtful exploration of what it means to “do the right thing” in a world where every choice feels like a potential misstep. How far should we go to avoid offending anyone? Can good intentions excuse clumsy execution? FastHorse does not offer easy answers. Instead, she invites audiences to laugh, squirm, and think.

By the time the lights come up for curtain call, you may not have a clear answer about the “right” way to celebrate Thanksgiving. But you will leave with appreciation for just how messy, complicated, and wonderfully human the attempt to find one is.

The Thanksgiving Play runs at the Black Box Theatre (1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL) through November 1, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.