PLUNGE IBD

Sinopsi

á &ldquo,Water is a vivid metaphor in Los Angeles. We live in a desert beside an ocean, an existence of simultaneous want and plenitude. á áAnother, lesser-known water source inspires The Ballad of Bimini Baths, a trio of plays by local playwright Tom Jacobson. Bimini was a popular swimming and spa complex at the site of hot springs one block east of Vermont Avenue between 1st and 2nd streets, operated from 1903 to 1951. á áJacobson makes this the nexus of a wide-ranging tale that pulls together events in L A history, some of which occurred at the baths, others not. His theme is sins in need of being washed away&mdash,racism as well as other moral failings. á áThe intriguing result is being staged by three small theaters, all running different plays ranging from 55 minutes to 1½ hours. á áThe final play is an inspiring tale of people working together to try to redeem the past and re-chart the future. The first two, though, take on disturbing topics that can be difficult to watch and aren&rsquo,t easily resolved in brief, short-story-like formats&hellip, á áJacobson&rsquo,s fascination with mercurial/chameleonic human nature&mdash,seen in such plays as TAINTED BLOOD, OUROBOROS and THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY WAY&mdash,takes daring forms in these first two Bimini plays. á áThe introductory piece, PLUNGE, introduces [Everett C] Maxwell [a historical figure: the first art curator at what was initially known as the Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science and Art] on a night of triumph in his curatorial career in 1916. &hellip,he is brainy, inquisitive and flirtatious as he encounters a priest in a quiet corner at a garden party. Sensing a shared attraction, Maxwell suggests they retire to a private spa room at Bimini, but after he&rsquo,s eagerly swapped his tuxedo for bathing togs, a chill sets in as the priest hints at a dark event. á áHere is another historical figure, Father E V Reynolds, who disappeared after the 1908 drowning of a 15-year-old boy at the baths. Reynolds was suspected of having propositioned the youth. &hellip,his calm, ministerial demeanor turns cold and slippery. &hellip,a taut sense of mystery&hellip, á áReynolds&rsquo, identity eventually comes into doubt, and reality keeps shifting. As dark memories replay, the actors slip into character as the young victims. After witnessing what&rsquo,s perpetrated on the boys, the audience feels in need of cleansing&mdash,but that relief is withheld.&rdquo, Daryl H Miller, Los Angeles Timesá á&ldquo,Long-buried secrets of power, passion, and perversion propel PLUNGE, the first installment of Tom Jacobson&rsquo,s concurrently running Bimini Baths Trilogy, as provocative a World Premiere play as you&rsquo,re likely to experience any time soon.&rdquo, StageSceneLAá á&ldquo,Jacobson has created an intricate puzzle of a play, a matryoshka doll where one truth lays nested within another, only to find another nested within that.&rdquo, Stage Raw