Theater review by Raven Snook
An exploration of the ripple effects of rape culture, Something Clean deals with the aftermath of a sex crime, but we never meet the perpetrator or the survivor. Selina Fillinger's shattering one-act unfolds in a series of swift two-person scenes. The luminous Kathryn Erbe plays Charlotte, the upper-class suburban mom of a Brock Turner–like college athlete whose paltry six-month sentence for sexual assault sparks national outrage. On her tortuous journey of self-discovery, Charlotte bonds with Joey (the excellent Christopher Livingston)—the young, black gay man who runs the sexual-assault prevention center where she becomes a volunteer—and retreats from her husband, Doug (Daniel Jenkins), a workaholic who refuses to face their new reality.
Working in an unnervingly intimate space, director Margot Bordelon elicits spot-on performances from all three members of the cast. The writing sometimes slides into didacticism, as when Joey schools Charlotte on white privilege and on terms such as genderqueer and cis. But for the most part, Fillinger’s meticulously constructed drama smartly focuses on the personal, not the political: The heart of the piece is the burgeoning friendship between the fastidious Charlotte and the fabulous Joey, through which she starts to find a purpose outside her family. Because of her son's actions, Charlotte's perspective on her whole life shifts. Watching her parse her past while trying to plan a productive future can be discomfiting; there are moments when it feels hard to muster empathy for a woman who raised a rapist. But that's what makes Something Clean so heartrending. In her own way, Charlotte is a victim, too. You can be furious at her through your tears.
Roundabout Underground (Off Broadway). By Selina Fillinger. Directed by Margot Bordelon. With Kathryn Erbe, Daniel Jenkins, Christopher Livingston. Running time: 1hr 25mins. No intermission.
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