Rep's 'One House Over' finds surprising humor in a timely play about Dreamers

In the final scene of One House Over, protagonist Joanne Vacura (Elaine Rivkin) sits stunned at a patio table in the backyard of her suburban Chicago home. Surrounding her is the detritus of a party gone horribly awry. America's melting pot has boiled over into her backyard oasis. Shame and regrets are strewn among the paper plates.

Joanne's manicured backyard is the setting of One House Over, which is having its world premiere at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Quadracci Powerhouse Theater. In it, playwright Catherine Trieschmann takes big issues like xenophobia and inserts them into a compelling story about four broken people living together, but living in very different realities. They turn desperately to each other for things they’re unable to give.

The story is sent in 2010, allowing Trieschmann to exploit the now-ironic confidence that flourished among progressives following Barack Obama’s election. The nation had righted itself, Joanne says. It’s a new America, free of the racist, xenophobic leadership of the past.

The stunning set, which perfectly replicates the backyard of a vintage suburban Chicago home, grounds the play and sets the tone. The attention to detail by scenic designer Kevin Depinet, right down to the garbage bin in the side alley, enhances the authenticity of a believable story.

The home belongs to Joanne, a divorced violin teacher. She would be an empty nester if not for her curmudgeonly elderly father Milos Milos (Mark Jacoby), for whom she's providing home care. He's a Czech immigrant who fled to America to escape Hitler.

Joanne hires Camila (Zoe Sophia Garcia), a Mexican American, to take over the care-taking duties. Joanne feels guilty, as if she’s abandoning her daughterly responsibilities, which ultimately leads to complications.

It’s clear from the start that Camila is an undocumented worker, but Joanne shrugs it off. Unaware of her white privilege and condescension, she considers herself a liberal. Beside, she's blind to the complications of immigration issues, so she's more concerned about maintaining workable boundaries between her household and that of Camila, who will live with her husband Rafael (Justin Huen) in Joanne’s basement apartment.

A 50-something single woman, she's built an emotional border wall around herself, and she doesn't want anyone, least of all these unfamiliar kind of people, hopping across it.

The play unfolds in a series of cinematic-style scenes, which transition quickly with the help of the cast acting as prop managers and with effective bridge music by Joe Cerqua. With each scene, we watch as boundaries disappear and new ones arise, bonds form and dissipate.

There’s one other character — Patty (Jeanne Paulsen), a lonely neighbor who lives one house over. She might as well live a world away for all the emotional distance between her and Joanne.

Rep artistic director Mark Clements makes a tight ensemble of the play’s disparate characters. His touch is also apparent in the actors’ flawless comic delivery. You’d be hard-pressed to name a production in which the comedy is handled with such polish, in which the actors’ timing is so impeccable and they hold for laughs for exactly the right amount of time so that no dialogue gets lost.  

The actors rise above the stereotypes they represent to create distinct and memorable characters. Garcia balances Camila’s no-nonsense, defensive personality with moments of tenderness and longing.

Rafael is both the group’s peacemaker and troublemaker, as well as a manipulative opportunist. But in Huen’s textured performance, Rafael’s laid-back, boyish charm and inherent sincerity steer him well clear of villain territory.

A sexy couple, Camila and Rafael have a passionate energy that contrasts with the play’s stony white characters, creating the tension that drives the plot forward.

Paulsen is wonderful as the nuisance neighbor. Her deadpan insults get big laughs, but her hostile antics are really just a plea for attention.

Trieschmann’s social critique is spot-on and packs a wallop, but it’s the play’s excellent storytelling and surprising hilarity that make it a sure-fire hit. The opening-night audience lapped up the comedy with relish. Despite the play’s wrenching ending, the crowd waiting at the elevators after the show was sharing funny moments.

Just one critical note: Trieschman occasionally hammers the “meaning” of a scene with an unnecessarily heavy hand — as if to avoid losing the gravitas beneath the humor. That might be worth a second look as the play continues forward in development.

One House Over is part of Clements’ ongoing commitment to bring Milwaukee together through theater by featuring diverse people and their experiences on the stage. Talkbacks and programs about the issues presented in each production — in this case the urgent need for action on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) — bring added attention to pressing social problems.

Clements’ efforts have made the Rep a major force for progress in bridging Milwaukee’s racial and cultural fault lines.

At the end of One House Over, in an effort to cheer up Joanne, Patty tells her that the world is much bigger than her backyard. Through the efforts of leaders like Clements, perhaps someday that will come to pass.