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It's always a tough task writing a play that deals with any sensitive subject, and plays about racism are plentiful. Rebecca Gilman's Spinning Into Butter, now playing at the Goodman Theatre in it's third and final extension, is probably one of the most controversial plays you're likely to see.
What makes Spinning Into Butter controversial is not what most people would consider blatant racism, instead, it is the subtlety with which the play's message creeps into our understanding that eventually chills us. This is a powerful play. A play made even more powerful by the post-show discussion (which follows every performance). I'm sure that anyone present at the discussion the night I saw the play would admit that no matter what their race, they probably learned just as much about tolerance after the show as they did during it. The discussion is, in effect, the third act of the play.
The scene of Spinning Into Butter is Belmont College in Vermont, a place where there is no real public unrest, and everyone just goes about their politically-correct lives without any danger of seeing the racial tensions of the big cities. And they like it that way. When an African-American student finds racist notes attached to his door, the calm is shattered and the staff and students struggle to find out not only who is responsible, but how this could happen there. At the center of the play is Dean Sarah Daniels (Mary Beth Fisher), Belmont's Dean of Students. When she is presented with these developments, she struggles not only to find a solution for the school, but also to reconcile her own feelings. As other faculty members jump on the bandwagon, we begin to see what is a ridiculous excuse for race relations. If I'm being vague about the plot, it's deliberate. All I will say is this: the second act is an extremely tight piece of theatre in itself.
Gilman has crafted a play that will infuriate and shock you. She is an important new voice in the theatre. Director Les Waters has handled the play's subject matter very well, and allows us to see whatever side of the story we want. Mary Beth Fisher, as Sarah Daniels, gives a remarkable performance. She is righteously liberal, but is always teetering on the edge of the abyss. The expert portrayals of Mary Ann Thebus, Robert Breuler, and Jim Leaming also provide three different but still strong points-of-view.
Spinning Into Butter is the kind of play that will change the way you look at yourself.
