Fairfield Preview

It’s fitting that the last main stage play at the current Phoenix Theatre was the Pulitzer-Prize-winning “Sweat”. It was full of gritty dialogue, realistic portrayals of regular life, a diverse cast, and had an ending that left you reeling long after the final bow. The show closed this past weekend but as the Phoenix wraps up its time at the old church theater and prepares for its move to its new home on Illinois, you have one more chance to see a play in a building that has held 30 years of great performances. 

“Fairfield” opens this weekend on the intimate Basile stage. A grade school is thrown into chaos when a young white teacher decides use role playing to celebrate Black history month with her first grade class. Emotions run high and prejudices are revealed as the parents and superintendent get involved. The script is full of dark humor and is reminiscent of “Gods of Carnage”. The play’s conversations are all too familiar, but they’re approached in a way that uses humor to demonstrate the absurdity of the situations.  

 “Even though it was written a couple of years ago, “Fairfield” is more immediate than ever. Just recently, a very similar story broke in Bloomington as the schools struggle to find appropriate ways to discuss the racial history of our country,” Director Ansley Valentine explained. “Even within a school community of conscientious and well-meaning educators, problems arise. Eric Coble's play allows us to hear about these important issues AND have a good laugh at the same time. The humor in the play makes very delicate subjects more palatable.”

The production doesn’t take away from the seriousness of the issue. Instead it highlights its prevalence and our tendency to misunderstand anyone coming from a different point of view. The best nights at the theatre entertain while at the same time opening a dialogue. “Fairfield” should do just that for audiences.  

“Art, and theatre especially, can be a powerful way to confront people with the issues and the parts of themselves they are trying to avoid seeing,” said Doug Dowers, one of the production’s actors. “The magic of theatre is that while there is a distance that makes us willing to see things on stage that we’d turn away from in real life, there is simultaneously an immediacy, a connection, a sharing of experience that makes us a part of what’s happening on stage whether we realize it or not.”

As the Phoenix Theatre closes its 30 year run in the old church, don’t miss your chance to say goodbye with one last show. “For us, this production is poignant, topical, and outrageously funny,” said the Phoenix Theatre’s Chelsea Anderson. “It's a great way to close out the Park Ave location in the true Phoenix aesthetic!”

Don't Miss the Show 

For more information about the Phoenix Theatre, visit www.phoenixtheatre.org. The theater is located at 749 N. Park Ave., Indianapolis, just off Massachusetts Ave. 

Performances: The show runs March 8 – April 1 and offers five performances a week. Wednesdays and Thursdays begin at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturdays begin at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. 

Tickets: To purchase tickets, call (317) 635-7529 or visit phoenixtheatre.org. Prices range from $27 to $33.

Photos courtesy of Zach Rosing.