Mugged by misogyny
You need to go see "Do You Feel Anger?" at Circle X.
Mara Nelson-Greenberg's viciously dark comedy is built around Sofia, Paula Rebelo, a corporate empathy coach. She's been called in to a collection agency to teach the staff, well really the men, how to feel things other than misogyny. She's a pro so this shouldn't be an issue, right?
Almost immediately Eva, played brilliantly by Tasha Ames, storms into the conference room and overshares everything. Seems like she's been getting mugged in the break room, her female co-worker Janie has been missing in the bathroom for weeks, and she advises a fake boyfriend immediately. This is all divulged at breakneck speed.
When the men arrive, it's worse than we thought. They think "empathy" is a bird. (The trio of men capture the toxic culture of the office and give what feel like they should be little more than caricatures real toxic life.)
You probably have a sense where this is going ... but here's the magic of "Do You Feel Anger?" It keeps surprising you and keeps making you painfully laugh. The setup is strong but the play develops and deepens the satire by expertly skewering office culture, professional trainings, our culture's fear of women, and that devilish reversal where the language of the victim is performatively co-opted by the ones doing the harm.
This is a comedy, you will laugh (a lot) but you won't walk out of the theater with a smile on your face (especially if you're a woman). You will feel grateful for Mara Nelson-Greenberg's recognizing the awful absurdity of our culture and for this production that gets a really tricky tone just right.
"Do You Feel Anger?" plays at Circle X Theatre in Atwater Village through February 25th.
This is Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theater for KCRW.