Nice People stick to mission, present moving 'Psalms'

By: Erica Hope

Posted: 10/31/08

I couldn't take notes because I was spellbound.

The play had been running for over an hour with no intermission and the performers had become more fixating with each minute.

Roller coasters of emotion flooded over the audience as viewers were led from horror and grief to bouts of bittersweet laughter.

This production, "Psalms of a Questionable Nature," illustrates life - life in its never-ending hope to reach out in darkness and find someone there.

Walking into the theater, the atmosphere was dark. The house was tiny, yet every seat was a good one. My feet touched the stage.

The performance platform began on the ground and was covered with an elaborate, wood-smelling set.

Designed as to look like a basement, the stairs came down from the left and there were notebooks stacked, vials scattered, and mice caged - real mice - squeaking everywhere.

In this basement laboratory, I watched two sisters in a very long conversation that reached far outside of their house and touched the audience.

"Psalms of a Questionable Nature" was written by Marisa Wegrzyn and directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh of Nice People Theater Company.

In an interview with the founders of the company, The Triangle dug deep into the minds of Nice People artistic directors Miriam White and Nicole Blicher about the company and their latest performance.

With the name Nice People, the company follows the title and stated that it is directly related to their mission.

"It's about the process, not the product. With many other companies, it's the other way around," Blicher said.

The women discovered early in their career together that by building a group of genuine people who share the same artistic vision, the entire journey to opening night develops with positive results for all parties involved.

Using this philosophy, Nice People called on friends Yousefzadeh and Wegrzyn to direct and write "Psalms of a Questionable Nature."

This show was Yousefzadeh's debut as director and the results were breathless.

Already dubbed "kind of a genius" by Blicher, Yousefzadeh is sure to achieve high success as she finishes up her college career.

Wegrzyn, another mastermind in this messenger's eyes, scraped mankind raw in this piece.

Showing us the very human emotions no one wants brought into the light, the results were brilliant and absolutely fascinating.

Placed upon a show flyer reads the simple statement, "Two stepsisters are brought together by their parents death."

Yes, this is true, but this meager information is not enough to exult the powerful plot to this production.

From two different walks of life, the sisters Greta, an old news anchor whose harshness the viewer sees is a mere front to safeguard her from pain, and the quirky and deeply afflicted Moo, are joined.

Their conversation is suspenseful and twisted as it unlocks a plagued past within each of the sisters and the lives around them.

The actresses, Janice Rowland and Rachael Joffred, Greta and Moo, respectively, placed a spell over the theater.

At times, there was so much power and emotion shining through their eyes that it rolled out in real tears.

Not sobs or quakes, but slow wetness dripping down their cheeks.

The house was filled with that same pit-of-the-stomach emotion - my cheeks even moistened along with the actresses. I have never been so moved by a theatrical performance - ever.

This show will provide a once in a lifetime experience to any viewer.

"Psalms of a Questionable Nature" is affordable and put on by those who have striven for and reached perfection.

Words cannot do this production justice.

"Psalms of a Questionable Nature" is running now through Nov. 9 at the Walnut Street Theatre's Studio 5.

Individual tickets are $15 and can be found online at www.nicepeopletheater.org.

If you are looking for a deal, Nov. 3's "industry night" tickets can be purchased beforehand at www.funsavers.com for only $7.50.