The modern relevance of Eden Prairie, 1971 is difficult to ignore. Although set in the 1970s, it touches on issues from the past and present, giving the audience a sense of shared trauma. The Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado production now playing at Boulder’s Dairy Center reflects our current intense political and social divides while it examines similar past struggles.
Eden Prairie, 1971 is a bittersweet play about two young people during the Vietnam War who struggle to find hope while being crushed by a divided country. The play is set in the small town of Eden Prairie, Minnesota in 1971. The Vietnam War is raging and everyone is feeling its impact. Pete (James Giordano) is a draft dodger who travels 300 miles from Canada to deliver a message to his high school classmate, Rachel (Kate Herbert). Rachel has left college in California to support her mother at home while her father does his duty and fights in the war.
A single scene plays out in Rachel’s backyard on the same night as the historic Apollo 15 moon landing. How can things be so bad if a man is driving a rover on the moon? However, Pete’s guilt is palpable as he stands before Rachel and delivers a message that, in one moment, changes everything for her. The poise and humor with which Rachel deals with the news reflects her intellect and maturity. Their conversations are sometimes vehemently exchanged, but are more often quiet explorations of duty to their loved ones and how that affects their futures.
Kate Hebert and Adrian Egolf | Photography: Michael Ensminger.
Rachel defends her choices, but clearly longs to explore a more intellectual life where her contributions to society make a difference. She also has feelings for Pete that she struggles to hide. Pete defends his choices passionately but is laden with guilt for the sacrifices he made and how that has affected his family. Yet, a vulnerability he feels around Rachel is an underlying current throughout their discussions. Some dramatic pauses in the conversation don’t always hit the mark, but do finally manage to indirectly convey both of their innermost feelings.
When Rachel’s mother Mrs. Thompson (Adrian Egolf) comes out into the yard, she provides some comedic relief to the seriousness of Pete and Rachel’s conversation. In her own world, she brings many laughs as she flits about the yard dancing and wondering aloud about the astronauts on the moon and the one circling it. Her light-hearted approach to Rachel’s interaction with Pete along with her recalling the good times with her husband exposes her lack of desire to deal with her emotional decay.
Smart’s script is tight, leaving little room for rambling, but loads of time to contemplate. The character’s full stories unspool as the scene unwinds. These three characters draw in the audience with Pete’s bravery and raging guilt. And then, there’s the more grounded Rachel who truly begins to understand the cost of freedom on so many levels. Finally, the fragile Mrs. Thompson leaves us all wanting to hug her. `Eden Prairie, 1971` is a quiet play that I found surprisingly relatable to the current temperature of our political landscape. And although I thought the long dramatic pauses really slowed down the momentum of the unfolding stories, the rest of the play was amusing, thoughtful, and rich.
The Dairy’s Carson Theatre itself is small, but the condensed space allows the audience to be close and to emotionally connect with the cast. The simple set is brought beautifully to life by Tina Anderson: a familiar backyard of grass, chain-link fence, and patio furniture adjacent to a simple yellow house. You feel right at home. The stage lighting, by Jon Dunkle, suits the setting well and is just how you would imagine a moonlit midsummer Minnesota night. Sound designer Andrew Metzroth adds to the realistic portrayal with an excellent background of katydids, crickets, the occasional bird and music from the era. The costume design, by Sarah Zinn, is perfectly suited for 1971 and doesn’t draw attention away from the solid performances.
Eden Prairie, 1971, by award-winning playwright Mat Smart, is a Rolling World Premiere from the National New Play Network and concludes the 2022-2023 season of the Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado.
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