Small town tries to raise its profile in FST world premiere ‘Visit Joe Whitefeather’

There’s a pointed and potentially funny satirical play waiting to emerge in the world premiere of Bruce Graham’s “Visit Joe Whitefeather (and bring the family!)” now playing at Florida Studio Theatre, which commissioned the piece during the height of the pandemic.

Graham has most of the ingredients, but needs a slightly different mix to make it more than just mildly engaging.

It is about a dying small town in Pennsylvania that decides to raise its profile by acquiring the remains of a Native American Olympian and war hero named Joe Whitefeather and creating a monument to his glory. Town leaders expect that enough people will be curious enough to stop by to boost local businesses and tax revenues.

Arts Newsletter: Sign up to receive the latest news on the Sarasota area arts scene every Monday

Theater, music, dance, art and more: 45-plus arts events to see and hear in April in Sarasota-Manatee area

Also on stage at FST: Characters try to make connections in engaging premiere of ‘Paralyzed’

It’s not such a far-fetched idea if you consider the real town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, which did just that in 1954.

So what if there is no indication that Joe Whitefeather ever came anywhere near Beaver Gap? And let’s not worry yet that there’s some question about whether the remains provided are actually of Joe Whitefeather, or that the town may not have properly prepared a suitable burial plot.

The earnest, long-serving Mayor Walt, played with a do-gooder’s spirit and unflagging energy by Kraig Swartz, just wants to help the town escape a slump.

Graham brings the audience into the debate and the tangled web of good intentions that turn into misdeeds and corruption in 1974 in a series of lively town council meetings, as seen from the contemporary perspective of one of the main characters, a new business owner named Lucy.

The Senior Lucy (played by Kim Crow), has felt guilty about what happened decades ago and is ready to come clean in an interview with a filmmaker played by London Carlisle (fortified with a healthy dose of pot). But Lucy and Marcus are essentially left to just watch from the sidelines and react with occasional glances that make their presence extraneous until the play’s final moments. But we do see how Malka Wallick as the younger Lucy get roped in despite misgivings.

Commissioning new work: Florida Studio Theatre aims to provoke with world premiere comedy

Sarasota gets its shot at ‘Hamilton’: Broadway hit headlines Van Wezel season

A season of transition: See what's coming to Sarasota's Asolo Rep with its 2023-24 lineup

Graham’s focus is how easily one little lie or hidden truth can lead to bigger complications. The playwright throws in plenty of humorous references to cultural appropriation and political incorrectness along the way, though they weren’t widely used terms or of great concern at the time.

He also attempts to equate what happened in Beaver Gap with the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon at about the same time. And while you can understand the parallels – the cover up is almost always worse than the crime – it is still challenging to equate this small town’s misdeeds with Nixon’s actions in the Watergate burglary in the way they are portrayed.

Perhaps it is a matter of tone, which is varied in the premiere staged by Kate Alexander on a beautiful set by the sisters Isabel A. and Moriah Curley-Clay that represents several locations at once.

Cast members perform in vastly different styles. Swartz is big but believable as the mayor, while Ellie Mooney is broadly exaggerated in her comical dual roles as the uptight and religious town council secretary and a seemingly bi-polar librarian who is sunny during the day and a foul-mouthed cynic at night. Wallick, Britt Michael Gordon as a police officer with other dreams and Anat Cogan as the hero’s daughter, play their roles in a more natural and grounded way.

The story Graham has conceived has tremendous potential. I was engaged with the outlines of the plot and many of the characters, but just not as emotionally invested as I’d like to be.

‘Visit Joe Whitefeather (and bring the family!)’

By Bruce Graham. Directed by Kate Alexander. Reviewed April 7 at Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Through May 21. $25-$39. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: A clever idea that needs work in FST premiere ‘Visit Joe Whitefeather’