Teenage girls and puberty can be a deadly combination of hormones. Just ask the eighth grade girls bonded together in a horse judging competition who experience all the great and grotesque diary entries of their age and gender. Yale Rep is currently exposing all the various body parts and peculiarities of one group of active participants in this true tale memoir of "falcon girls” by Hilary Bettis playing at its theater at 1120 Chapel Street in New Haven until Saturday, November 2.
Hold on to your bobby socks and horse’s pommel as you make the intimate acquaintance of six young girls as they reveal the true story of their ascent toward adulthood. These are supposed to be the best and golden years of youth but are they? Each budding flower is dealing with a full hand of issues, from jealousy to Jesus, rivalries to romances, horses and hostilities and sex and serial killers.
In this world premiere play directed with skilled hands by May Adrales, we encounter a bevy of personalities and problems in a rural Colorado ranch land in the early 1990’s. When H (or Hillary or Hillary Clinton) arrives in town, she tries to find a place for herself as a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) to indulge her love of horses and her desperate need to fit in and not to just be the new girl. She has to settle for being an alternate to an alternate, but waiting for her turn on the team can be tiresome.
The tribe of troubled teens includes Alexa Lopez’s April who wants to be a Hollywood star married to an even more famous Hollywood star, Alysssa Marck’s Carly who is saddled with an abusive father and some strict rules of behavior, Anna Roman’s Mary who leads the fan club for Jesus and continually asks WWJD (What Would Jesus Do in every situation), Annie Abramczyk’s Rebecca who has been indoctrinated to believe, courtesy of her mom, that winning at all costs is the prize and Sophia Marcelle’s Jasmine who has plunged herself into phone sex and online chats no matter the danger of being thrown off her mount. At the heart of this saga is Gabrielle Policano’s H who learns more lessons than she bargained for before and after she revealed her big secret.
This sisterhood enjoys a patient coach (Teddy Canez) as Mr. K who tries to reign them in and set them on a comfortable trotting path, Juan Sebastian Cruz’s Dan who just likes to be considered part of the team no matter what job he needs to do and Liza Fernandez’s Beverlee who as H’s mom tries to protect her from all the evils of her world. The girls prefer to gallop often out of control as they drop their leads and adventure off the path into pregnancy, abortion, guns, race, murder mysteries and, of course, their beloved horses. Evaluating the horses and their finer points is given a whole new perspective when H humorously applies the same terms, unflatteringly, to her potential teammates. Meanwhile one brave boy, Dan, serves as their male mascot and erroneously seeks dating advice when he fancies a relationship with H.
Think Mean Girls on Horseback to capture or lasso some of the angst of these talented performances. These adolescents are not likable, as they hug each other one moment and spit venom the next. For them, growing up is a gigantic challenge, one many of their parents make incredibly harder. If only Mr. K. could make them believe in themselves and their intrinsic value.
For tickets ($15-65). call the Yale Rep at 203-432-1234 or online at yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. with occasional matinees at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and every Saturday.
Take a startling ride, often bareback, as these girls struggle to find their identity in a world that is often confusing and hostile, where even their beloved stallions can not always carry them cross the finish line into adulthood.
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