The puppeteers do a fantastic job as well. KenYatta Rogers andВ Maya Jackson.В Photo by Ryan Maxwell. Holly is spoiled and bratty and a teenager, but Jackson throws such passion into her that itвЂ™s never off-putting. Jackson play Holly вЂ“ the lynchpin вЂ“ and she delivers! She captures the all-knowing naГЇvetГ© of a teenager combined with self-obsession and occasional cruelty. Prop Designers Debra Crerie and Kay Rzasa have a lot of fun work to do. But it вЂs the little details that really make the set cool, with the pile of Nintendo games and of course, all of the dolls. Royal conveys the dark claustrophobia of a basement in a spacious theater with five low beams to signal the ceiling and the huge stairs up to the real world. It could not have been easy to coordinate. Lighting Designer Brittany Diliberto and Sound Designer Thomas Sowers create a cacophony of voices and lighting each doll as he or she speaks. And he keeps every actor as real and as matter-of-fact as possible, which makes the lightning, clever dialogue real and meaningful. Are they psychological projections? Is Holly going crazy? That question is up in the air.Дirector (and Artistic Director) Michael Dove has done quite a wonderful job coordinating what is essentially a cast of hundreds, few of whom could move on their own. All of the rest on the shelves around the set are played by KyoSin and Luke Cieslewicz. One is played by puppeteer Vanessa Strickland вЂ“ the Carol Channing look-alike therapist with a great voice. But none of these are the main relationships in HollyвЂ™s life in the basement. Her Father (KenYatta Rogers) lets her do it and employs a tutor (Dawn Thomas)В to keep her moving towards the PSATS.Д¬orthron has put a twist on the normal teenage pregnancy story in that Holly is book-smart and devoutly Christian, and pregnant, while her father is liberal, not religious, and accepting. SheвЂ™s gotten pregnant with her next-door neighbor (Parker Drown) and been born-again at Church Camp in the same month and refuses to leave the basement as penanceвЂ¦or somethingвЂ¦until the baby comes. Holly Down in HeavenВ feels surprisingly global given that Holly (Maya Jackson) never leaves the basement. TheyвЂ™ve been a resident theater company at theВ Round House Theatre Silver SpringВ for three years. They were founded in 2003, and have grown their reputation for taking on big and important pieces with their small company.

Photo by Ryan Maxwell.ДЇorum TheatreВ has a mission to ask big questions and build community with the pieces they choose. Maya Jackson and Vanessa Strickland maneuvering a puppet doll that looks a lot like Broadway legend Carol Channing. Forum Theatre successfully takes on religion, teenage pregnancy, and ChuckyвЂ™s slightly milder cousins in Holly Down in Heaven вЂ“В their new work by Resident Playwright Kara Lee Corthron.

Holly down in heaven summary