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Tony Awards

 Fina Strazza is up for a Tony; she will not win. But it makes sense that she earned the recognition. The standard line is that nominations are really for characters; they're not for performances. Beth, in "John Proctor," takes a big Tony-friendly journey. (Also, it helps that Strazza's work is excellent.)


When we meet Beth, we recognize a type: She is academically ambitious but socially stilted. She has deep thoughts about the feminist gestures in Lizzo's career ("I made worksheets!"), but she can't stay calm and civil during a low-stakes argument. In one of her finest moments, she is asked if she would like to have sex with Harry Styles, and she begins giggling uncontrollably. (The giggling is utterly plausible; for the unfeigned convulsion, and for that alone, Strazza already deserves a Tony Award.) In the span of a thirty-second chuckle-fit, Beth begins to grow up; she is half-acknowledging that she has desires and she is complicated. The "Harry" scene is a turning point.

Because this script is so sharp, there's a major surprise at the end. It's revealed, at the eleventh hour, that Beth has been texting personal information to a sketchy teacher. She says it's "only when there is an emergency." (And this leads a more mature classmate to ask, with wide eyes, "How often do you have an emergency?") We quickly come to understand that Beth is being "groomed"--and, on one level, Beth herself apprehends this fact. The last ten minutes become a referendum on Beth. Will she have the courage to detach herself from her teacher (and to begin to make waves, even if various town elders would disapprove)? Beth makes the last major choice in the play--and it's surprising and powerful.

I was happy to see "John Proctor" a second time--and to keep an eye on Fina Strazza. It's a terrific year for plays.
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