The unpredictable plot is full of contrasts between the sophisticated, formerly wealthy Josephine and her down-to-earth, charming sister Sylvia (played by the bubbly Dominique Lowell.) Lynch Travis charms us all as Charles, the helpful, endearing superintendent of the apartment building.
The set is unusual in that it is "en-caged" in a network of realistic looking old pipes, giving us the claustrophobic feel of Sylvia's rent-controlled apartment in Harlem. It features the titular "painted window" that can't be opened... but can Charles change that, and all it symbolizes?
This play has a lot to say about identity, and how it is affected by both money and family origins. Its portrayal of the sometimes confrontational love relationship between sisters feels real. It ends abruptly, and I'm not sure how to take that.
The author says, "It’s a dissection of identity, classism, racism, and the grotesque havoc that consumerism, capitalism, and entitlement has wreaked on the American dream. It is a play about family, loss, regret, and the inability to change. It is a play about the staggering paralysis and power of fear. But ultimately, at its center, this is a play about love."
A Painted Window continues through February 26
williamstontheatre.com