In a pivotal scene of House of Yes, two reunited former lovers, a little drunk in a room that’s rife with sexual tension, begin a bizarre, morbid, and extremely uncomfortable role-playing session. She’s Jackie O, decked out in an iconic pink suit and pillbox hat, and he’s JFK. A fake gun blast goes off, “JFK” collapses onto the couch in feigned pain, and Jackie rushes next to him for support. Then, they have sex.
If you’re not cringing to the point of convulsion, that’s because I have glossed over one critical detail about these death-loving former partners—they are fraternal twins.
While dysfunctional families have always been a hot theatrical topic, House of Yes, a Nomadic Theatre production showing in the Davis Center’s Devine Studio Theatre Jan. 20-29, follows a family that is disturbingly screwed up. Hostility, violence, and, yes, incest all ensue when son Marty (our JFK) comes home to his wealthy Washington, D.C. family one stormy Thanksgiving with his new fiancée, the blonde and squeaky-clean Lesly, who hails from a farm in Pennsylvania. This stings Jackie O, his inexplicably Kennedy-obsessed twin sister whose recent stint in a mental institution should have lasted a hell of a lot longer than it did. As the play progresses, Lesly withstands Jackie’s acerbic antagonism and learns the horrifying secrets of this family—who, as playwright Wendy Macleod once explained, has “never been said no to.”
A play with such disturbing and heavy subject matter was an ambitious undertaking for director Lucy Obus (Col ’11), who said that the play’s “unconventionality” was a major reason for her choice. And while the production could have easily turned out weird or gimmicky—it contains more straddling and disrobing than you would expect to see at a school that makes you walk to Wisconsin Avenue for condoms—it is not only successful, but disconcertingly enjoyable.
The success is due largely to remarkable performances from every member of the five-character cast. By far the most fascinating and intricate of the screwy ensemble, Sasha Wilson’s (COL ’11) Jackie O’s character is hostile, jealous, sometimes oddly sympathetic, and always certifiably nuts-o. Wilson embodies her character’s nuances sublimely, frequently wearing a twisted grin that is straight out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
But with all the play’s unsettling aspects—and there are quite a few—House of Yes will make you laugh. Jackie O has her funny moments amid her outbursts of insanity, but the real comic relief comes from Marty and Jackie’s pitiable younger brother, Anthony, played by Robert Duffley (COL ’13). Anthony is awkward and confused about women, which is not too surprising given the household he grew up in. But through his refreshingly non-incestuous weirdness, he provides a good deal of adorable comedy, particularly in his lovey-eyed interactions with his brother’s confused fiancée. Mrs. Pascal, the family’s free-spirited and unapologetic matriarch played by Catherine Razeto (COL ’13), provides similar levity, despite her enraging, nonchalant attitude towards her children’s actions.
When the final lights go down on House of Yes, the audience is uncomfortable. But it’s Black Swan uncomfortable—unsettled, for sure, but also intrigued and entirely satisfied. But be warned—you might never see a clip from the Zapruder Film the same way again.
i love the word acerbic