Jojo Jones debut Veal shows some real teeth at Red Orchid
A Red Orchid Theatre opened up this October spooky theatre season with a 90-minute psychological thrill ride through the depths of a post revolutionary world with Jojo Jones’ Veal, directed by Red Orchid ensemble member Dado. This World Premiere production does what Red Orchid does best, challenges audiences with cutting edge material. Veal doesn’t take on themes that are unrecognizable, it explores what lives inside all of our guts, the selfishness to think we deserve all that we want, the grudges seared into our souls from long ago pains, and the question of whether we should make others face the consequences of their actions or trust karma and fate to do the bidding. Veal is a twisted, dark, can’t take your eyes away tale of retribution, power, and the wolf that lives in us all.
In Jones’ Veal, a young woman, Chelsea (Alexandra Chopson) has become Queen of North America, and of course, once one comes into power, people want things. A group of former friends, Franny (Jojo Brown), Lulu (Carmia Imani), and Noa (Alice Wu), come to pay a visit to request a favor, a favor they feel is owed to them since, you know, they knew the queen before her reign. But Chelsea has other ideas of what is owed. Waited on by her puppet-like male concubine (Jasper Johnson), Chelsea proceeds to see what nostalgia driven hoops her former frenemies will jump through to earn what they want. Testing the limits of what one will do for personal need, and the perceived innocence of childhood, Veal gives a horrible glimpse of the mind-fuck of loneliness, the long lasting effects of cruelty, and how doing bad things is actually really easy. Each character faces memory, truth, and end-times desperation in their own way as they navigate the crumbling facade of power.
(Front)Alexandra Chopson with (back, l to r) Carmia Imani, Jojo Brown, Jasper Johnson and Alice Wu in A Red Orchid Theatre’s world premiere of Veal. Photo by Evan Hanover.
The audience walks into the theatre and already we are in the throne room of Alexandra Chopson’s Chelsea. Her icy glare and above it all nature is her armor that she refuses to break until the bitter end. The entire cast is devoted to the unhinged chaos that is required of their roles and never once do they falter or fall short of the energy needed to continue their desperate tasks. The costumes (Izumi Inaba) scream post-apocalyptic bedlam with the modge podge nature of Chelsea’s royal look. This is not a moment of surplus, everything from gowns to props (Ab Rieve) reflects this. The scenic and lighting (Tianxuan Chen) mirror the same world. This is the kind of play that needs very little, and not just because it is set in a world where even those in power are cut off from supply chains. Jones’ creates characters so addictably cringey and relatable and wild that nothing matters except what is being said, how they are saying it, and this ensemble cast committed to the havoc.
Veal is a deep dive into the trauma we cause and yet think is innocent – childlike. But the tables eventually turn, or at least that is what our mothers tell us. Vengeance is such an ugly word but maybe if there was more vengeance we wouldn't be in the state we are now, maybe the world in Veal wouldn’t be where it was, if evil had gotten theirs earlier and we stopped turning the other cheek. In the end though, a wolf is a wolf, no matter the sheep's clothing and the blood remains on their hands.
Veal was extended through Nov. 9 at A Red Orchid Theatre (1531 N Wells St.). For tickets and information visit, aredorchidtheatre.org.
