Sexual Harassment, the Supreme Court, and Political Hypocrisy Collide in Vivid Stage's “Twirl”

Years ago, a prominent judge survived accusations of sexual harassment by a colleague and made it onto the Supreme Court. Today, his wife contacts his accuser and asks for a meeting. What does she want? And is the episode really behind them?

That’s the premise behind “Twirl” – a new play by Joe Sutton, which will have a workshop presentation at Vivid Stage in Summit from February 17-27. The play received the 2021 Julie Harris Best New Play Award from the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild.

The premise may remind you about the time Ginni, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, left a message on the answering machine of Anita Hill. Sutton says he began writing the play a decade after that call and only used it as a starting point.

“Why would such a call be made?” Sutton wondered.

For many years, Sutton taught playwriting at Dartmouth College. He currently lives in West Orange, NJ, with his wife Anne Travers.

Laura Ekstrand, director of “Twirl” at Vivid Stage

“I’ve known Joe Sutton for several years, and admired his work,” explained Laura Ekstrand, Producing Artistic Director at Vivid Stage, who directs the production. “As an actor, I’ve read his plays at Writer’s Theatre of NJ, and now we’re in a playwriting group together. This play immediately caught my interest as being a good fit for Vivid Stage and our actors. It’s extremely current, relevant, and personal - exactly the kind of story we like to tell.

“It was inspired by the phone call Ginni Thomas made to Anita Hill after the whole thing was over, asking her for an apology,” continued Ekstrand. “Joe Sutton was intrigued by the contact between the two women. That’s where this play begins. As he wrote, he became interested in imagining what other motivations a wife might have in contacting her husband’s accuser in private. And having that as a reference point is as helpful as, say, being aware of other instances of sexual harassment accusations of high-profile men such as Andrew Cuomo, Harvey Weinstein, or Roger Ailes. It allows the audience to peek behind the scenes at this fictional scenario and maybe get a unique perspective, that of some of the women who experienced it.”

Last May, Vivid Stage presented a staged reading of “Twirl” over Zoom and the audience response was strong. In the talkback following the reading, several audience members urged the theatre company to produce the play.

The cast of “Twirl” at Vivid Stage (clockwise from top left): Becca L. McLarty, Sydney Fucito, Clark Carmichael, and Harriett Trangucci

“I was very pleased with that Zoom reading,” said Sutton. “The actors were terrific, and the tension in the play seemed to build and build and build, just as I hoped it would. Laura and I shared the experience of the Zoom reading –including a very interesting rehearsal and discussion that came from that. We subsequently had several important conversations throughout the fall, conducted auditions in which I took part, and at the start of the rehearsal process, during the part we call ‘table work,’ I have been available to answer questions and make observations about what my intentions were at various moments throughout the script.”

Two of the four actors – Clark Carmichael and Harriett Trangucci – were part of the cast for last year’s reading. They are joined by Sydney Fucito and Becca L. McLarty for the upcoming production. It’s a nice blend of actors who have been involved with the play for a while and actors bringing a fresh look to the work.

“Clark and Harriett were able to participate in the post-reading discussion, and have been able to be part of the changes that have been made since,” explained Ekstrand. “They have a head start of sorts in preparing for rehearsal, because they’ve already gotten to know their characters and do some thinking about their histories and relationship. Becca and Sydney came in after the reading, so it will be exciting to have their energy and voices as part of this collaboration.”

Joe Sutton, “Twirl” playwright

“It’s funny how the playwright starts the process as the expert on all the characters, but, by the end of the rehearsal process, it’s the actors who have really turned the characters inside out and know them best.”

Sutton has had his plays produced around the world, been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and has won the Best Play Award from the American Theatre Critics Association. He’s been involved with the development of “Twirl” at Vivid Stage more than he would have if he lived outside the area, but recognizes that there are times where a playwright can help and times where they should step aside and let the production develop on its own.

“I think the playwright has to vanish during certain steps so that the actors and directors can fully explore,” said Sutton. “As someone once pointed out to me, the playwright has no one looking over his or her shoulder during the early days of developing a script, shouldn’t the actors and directors have the same kind of freedom during their early phases as well? I think the answer is yes. So I’ll circle back and attend rehearsals again once the group begins running the play as a whole.”

Rehearsal photo of “Twirl” at Vivid Stage

Ekstrand notes that Vivid Stage may be promoting this as a “workshop production of a new play,” but is treating it as a full production in terms of the support they are giving it. The design, rehearsal, and presentation elements are all the same. They are simply acknowledging that this is the moment in the play’s development when the playwright is still refining the work and seeking to learn from the audience’s reaction as to it how the script needs to evolve next.

“The cast is also aware that we are all going to learn together about how the script works and where some changes might be needed, so they’re a very crucial part of this collaboration,” added Ekstrand. “One of the most interesting things about this script is that the characters often aren’t fully aware of their motivations. So our job in rehearsal is to discover what those might be, even if the characters couldn’t or wouldn’t ever be able to articulate them. The psychology of the characters is fascinating, and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun excavating that!”

One area of great interest to Sutton is the ending, which he says is always the greatest challenge for a play like this.

“With tensions so high – with conflict so pronounced – I wanted to find an ending that felt plausible and, at the same time, deeply satisfying given the struggle that had been unearthed.”

“Twirl” will be presented by Vivid Stage Thursday through Sunday from February 17-27 at the Oakes Center (120 Morris Avenue) in Summit. Vivid Stage is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s “Opening Night, Opening Right” campaign, which includes pledges to check vaccination records at the door, guarantee a masked audience, and allow room for social distancing in the theatre. These are the steps they took for their two previous shows in the season as they successfully welcomed audiences back to live in-person theatre.

Rehearsal photo of “Twirl” at Vivid Stage

Vivid Stage is a new name for a theatre company that has been producing great work for nearly three decades. They changed their name from Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre last year to better describe the work they do, and “Twirl” is a great example.

“We wanted to communicate our energy, and the kind of storytelling you’ll see on our stage,” said Ekstrand. “We produce emotional, intimate, contemporary plays, and the rest of our programs are also very immediate and visceral, like improv, classes, and new play readings. Everything we do is up close and personal. The acting ensemble is especially gifted at being emotionally transparent in a way that encourages the audience to have a similarly vivid experience.”