Presented by Atlantic Theater Company, Elyria tells the story of two immigrant women, their families, and their interweaving lives. Staged in the round at the Linda Gross Theatre, the play begins at a festival where Vasanta (Nilanjana Bose) and Dhatta (Gulshan Mia) unexpectedly run into each other after. They exchange tense words in Gujarati, Swahili, and English with a slight British accent. Their conservation is stiff, there’s a two-decade-old secret these women share, and all will be revealed in an unlikely place: Elyria, Ohio in 1982.
Directed by Awoye Timpo and written by Deepa Purohit (Off-Broadway playwriting debut), the play is ambitious as it tries to tackle ideas of immigration, classism, motherhood, and the American dream. Purohit is able to balance these heavier themes with the most delightful dry humor. If I told you Elyria was something like a soap opera, I would be underselling it. There are moments of toe-curling family drama that have turned to my friend mouthing “oh my gosh did you see that?” But there are also much quieter moments, more honest moments. Elyria is not about bad guys and good guys, it’s about two women doing their best for themselves and their families as they try to reconcile with their past. Elyria is bursting with rich ideas, and considering this, Purohit’s debut and career are something to watch.
