Messages in the garden: Play on stage now in Racine ‘not just some silly comedy that you forget 5 minutes afterward’ | Local News

By Lynn Sommers Last updated Sep 17, 2022

RACINE — On the surface, the synopsis of “Native Gardens” reads like two neighbors who disagree about gardening.

Frank and Virginia, long-time residents of their posh Washington, DC suburb, prefer a well-manicured garden, which sometimes requires a bit of pesticide. Pablo and Tania, two up-and-coming professionals who are new to the suburb, prefer native gardens that are better for the environment.

And the two families now live side-by-side with a property line dispute between them.

“Native Gardens,” by Karen Zacarías, is being presented at the Racine Theater Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave., for the next three weekends. It opened Friday.

Doug Instenes, the Racine Theater Guild’s long-time managing/artistic director, is directing “Native Gardens.” He said, “My favorite plays are very funny, but they have a message at the end that people can actually talk about afterwards.”

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“My favorite plays are very funny, but they have a message at the end that people can actually talk about afterwards,” said director Doug Instenes, the guild’s long-time managing/artistic director. “It’s not just some silly comedy that you forget five minutes afterward. There’s a lot of heart to this show. There’s a lot of message to this play.”

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It looks like a play about gardening, or a clash of cultures, or young people suffering their old neighbors and vice versa, but it is actually about learning to understand the people around us and sharing spaces.

It is also about learning to laugh at ourselves.

messages

Instenes said the play takes shots at everyone: old people and young, liberals and conservatives, men and women.

Jane Srnick, technical director, jokes around on the set of “Native Gardens.” Srnick taught at a performing arts high school in Indiana for 33 years before becoming the master carpenter at Carthage College. She joined the Racine Theater Guild last year.

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“The guys will laugh when the joke is on the girls, and the girls will laugh when the joke is on the guys,” Instenes said.

What he is asking from the audience is to just hang on to the end. It is not a show that can be appreciated in part.

He recalled that early in rehearsals, some of the crew read a scene from the play and became concerned about attaching themselves to a play with so many hot-button topics under the microscope. But after watching the show, they decided all was well.

Pablo

Norgie Montes De Oca-Metzinger, who plays high-powered attorney Pablo, agreed the play is more than a light-hearted comedy.

“When you get into the meat and potatoes of the show, it has more serious and profound threads wove through the fabric,” he said.

The play is about real-life issues that will make the audience think, and perhaps there will be discussions on the way home and over the dinner table long after the show is over.

This is a play, Metzinger continued, that allows for an interesting audience perspective as they look down into the backyards of these two homes.

These are real discussions that people have, he continued, though obviously dramatized for the show.

“What I love about this show is it is very well-written,” Metzinger said. “If you sort of take everything else away from it, it’s just a well-written show.”

He acknowledged “Native Gardens” may not have the name recognition of “The Odd Couple” or “Clue,” and people might see the title and think, “I don’t know about this.”

“Despite the fact it’s a show that isn’t widely known, it’s entertaining and has topical things from our daily lives like politics, classism, racism and basic human decency,” Metzinger said. “It gives the audience an opportunity to look at something from a third-party perspective, from both sides of the argument.”

There is one thing he wants to make clear: there isn’t a narrative that anyone is pushing. The show presents multiple viewpoints and lets the audience make up their own mind and draw their own conclusions.

“I think people will like it and enjoy it,” Metzinger said. “And perhaps people will have a dialogue about something like this in their own life.”

Kathy Robinson, left, a member of the crew, and set designer Sarah Hunt-Frank work backstage on the set for “Native Gardens.” Hunt-Frank said there were some challenges to creating the set for the play. For example, the playwright mentions flowers that do not necessarily all bloom at the same time.

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performance

For Metzinger, this will be the first play he has been in where he was afforded the opportunity to play a person of Hispanic origin and draw from his own personal lived experience.

His performance draws on the experience of people in his own family who have been in scenarios similar to those in the play.

“Personally, I think it’s cool to draw on real experiences that I’ve had and represent in this story the best I can,” he said.

“Being able to play someone who is Hispanic doesn’t mean I’m going to act harder or be funnier,” he continued. “But there’s something to that, being able to represent your own culture. There’s something special about that.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Tammy Zeller, right, plays Mother Abbess in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Tammy Zeller, right, plays Mother Abbess in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Bob Benson, right, plays Capt. Von Trapp in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.” The children, left to right, are Alayna Jensen, who plays Gretl; Isabel Young, who plays Marta; Evelyn Alumbreros, who plays Brigitta; Ethan Wilkins, who plays Kurt; Maddy Hansen, who plays Louisa; Luke Cloherty, who plays Friedrich; and Talia Engstrom, who plays Liesl.

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, middle, plays Maria as she sings to Talia Engstrom, seated, who plays Liesl, in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Ethan Wilkins, right, plays Kurt in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Ian Joyal, left, plays Rolf, and Talia Engstrom, right, plays Liesl, in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, middle, plays Maria as children give her a big hug in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

Catch a live theater performance

Racine County is home to four theater companies, so you don’t have to go too far to get a live theater experience such the Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music” shown here. These theater companies include:

Racine Theater Guild: RTG is a community theater that provides a variety of live entertainment and educational opportunities for all ages. RTG annually offers a season of eight main-stage plays and musicals, Racine Children’s Theatre, Jean’s Jazz Series and Comedy Tonight.
Over Our Head Players/6th Street Theatre: The Over Our Head Players operate the Sixth Street Theater in Downtown Racine. OOHPs is a non-profit organization of volunteer theatrical talent that produces Theatre/Schmeatre and hosts the annual Snowdance 10 Minute Comedy Festival,
Penguin Players is one of the few true cabaret style performance groups in Wisconsin and perform at the Eagles Club in Racine.
The Burlington Haylofters, a community theater group, was developed to promote the theatrical arts. They perform at the Malt House Theater.

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Tammy Zeller, right, plays Mother Abbess in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Tammy Zeller, right, plays Mother Abbess in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, middle, plays Maria as she sings to Talia Engstrom, seated, who plays Liesl, in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, left, plays Maria and Ethan Wilkins, right, plays Kurt in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Ian Joyal, left, plays Rolf, and Talia Engstrom, right, plays Liesl, in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Sound of Music’

Samantha Sustachek, middle, plays Maria as children give her a big hug in the Racine Theater Guild’s production of “The Sound of Music.”

Catch a live theater performance

Racine Theater Guild: RTG is a community theater that provides a variety of live entertainment and educational opportunities for all ages. RTG annually offers a season of eight main-stage plays and musicals, Racine Children’s Theatre, Jean’s Jazz Series and Comedy Tonight.
Over Our Head Players/6th Street Theatre: The Over Our Head Players operate the Sixth Street Theater in Downtown Racine. OOHPs is a non-profit organization of volunteer theatrical talent that produces Theatre/Schmeatre and hosts the annual Snowdance 10 Minute Comedy Festival,
Penguin Players is one of the few true cabaret style performance groups in Wisconsin and perform at the Eagles Club in Racine.
The Burlington Haylofters, a community theater group, was developed to promote the theatrical arts. They perform at the Malt House Theater.

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