Review: Satire Aplenty in Moonbox Productions' THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

Thanksgiving pageants – complete with Pilgrims, Native Americans, and oddly over-stuffed turkeys – were once the order of the day at elementary schools, with centuries-old precepts presented as truths.

Fast forward to today and we’re now well aware that that particular mythologizing was rife with falsehoods. Elementary schools – like the one depicted in Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse’s “The Thanksgiving Play,” being given a thought-provokingly humorous staging by Moonbox Productions through December 15 at Arrow Street Arts in Cambridge – are earnestly working to create a culturally sensitive program that more accurately depicts America’s first Thanksgiving.

The depth of the commitment, however, doesn’t stave off some stumbles and fumbles with the script detailing the many hilarious missteps that trip up the characters who include strung-out grammar-school teacher and grant-writing whiz Logan (Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed, of the Nipmuc Tribe), her street-performer boyfriend and wannabe theater artist Jaxton (Johnny Gordon), theme-park actress-for-hire Alicia (Marisa Diamond, of Maya Q’eqchi’ and Ashkenazi descent), and dim-witted but well-meaning visiting social-studies teacher Caden (Ohad Ashkenazi).

The play had its world premiere at the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon, before making its off-Broadway debut at Playwrights Horizon in 2018. A 2023 Broadway premiere followed at the Helen Hayes Theatre, marking the first time a play written by a Native American was produced on Broadway.

Under the direction of Tara Moses, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Moonbox mounting doesn’t always maintain a smooth pace, which sometimes undercuts the full measure of the pointedly satirical humor. But FastHorse’s script – with three of its well drawn characters, Logan, Jaxton, and Caden, bending over backwards to make sure everything they do reflects their sincere progressivism – carries the day, eliciting bountiful laughs along the way as it skewers the idea of four white people tackling the subject at hand.

When Logan declares that space will be held for any and every comment or suggestion, it’s a hint of what’s to come. And frivolity follows, especially in the fully faceted work of Diamond as the out-of-town actor brought in to bump up the pageant’s professionalism. Alicia may see herself on the ladder to stardom, but she knows she needs this job now. And, while she’s not actually Indigenous, she was, as she explains, the third replacement Jasmine in “Aladdin” at Disneyland. Moreover, she styled her hair in braids and donned a turquoise necklace for her headshot, and ultimately signed a contract that the school cannot renege on.

Ashkenazi’s gangly Caden fills each of his moments with manic mirth and surprising character revelations. He brims with goofiness, deftly delivering FastHorse’s clever insider bits as when he asked aloud, “What’s a dramaturg?” and hears “No one knows” in response. And Goodspeed and Gordon pair well, if not always convincingly, as the co-dependent couple Logan and Jackson.

Baron E. Pugh’s marvelously detailed scenic design – including everything from painted cinder block walls and a linoleum tile floor to brightly-colored, plastic molded chairs – captures the feel of every elementary school ever down to the handmade signs, which here are more than just backdrop. And the costumes by Asa Benally, a citizen of both the Navajo and Cherokee Nations, give each character an authentic look.

Photo caption: Ohad Ashkenazi, Marisa Diamond, Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed, and Johnny Gordon in a scene from Moonbox Productions’ “The Thanksgiving Play.” Photo by Sharman Altshuler.

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