Review for 1001

This past week I watched the play showing at my university. I sort of forced my best friend to watch it with me, but it wasn't too bad. --

With Arabic music in the background, a seemingly plump character, called the One-Eyed Arab (Caitlin Gutches) walks onto the stage with a hookah in one hand and a pleasant smile on her face. She says, “Come, sit, want some tea? Sit and listen,” setting up an inviting aura and capturing the viewer’s interest almost instantaneously.
Jason Grote’s 1001, now playing at the L. Howard Fox Theatre in Montclair State University, is a delightful yet bewildering play, only $15.00 for non-students and free admission for students of the college.
Set in two very different times, Ancient Persia and modern day New York City, 1001 tells the tormenting tales of Scheherazade/Dahna (Whitney Shields) and Shahriyar/Alan (Joe Calafiore.) Bouncing between constantly changing sets due to the contrasting time periods, Scheherazade’s struggle to keep herself alive by telling stories to her murderous husband, Shahriyar deeply parallels Dahna’s struggle to keep her love with Alan alive, as she is Muslim and he is Jewish.
Gutches remarks at the end, “It is a very confusing play. I had to read it many times before I understood it, and I still don’t understand all of it. You’d have to read it a hundred more times to really understand it.” And as it is confusingly written, it was portrayed in the same likeness. The various stories told by Scheherazade throughout seem pointless, until the very end where much of the story comes together.
Opposing the traditional one or two main characters, the play has four main characters that are meant to be played by only two people. Whitney Shield’s (Scheherazade/Dahna) performance was enjoyable and executed well, as it was a difficult role. Joe Calafiore’s (Shahriyar/Alan) awkward stutters and humorous tendencies lightened the mood. But the One-Eyed Arab (Caitlin Gutches) emphatically “stole the show.” The accurate yet amusing accent along with carrying the hookah wherever she went, as well as the fact that she was not even one-eyed, made for an unforgettable minor character.
The costumes and props used were fairly decent, though the use of some of the same props in the vastly different settings can easily confuse. It is slightly unlikely that an ancient Persian sword can be found in every day New York City. Then again, it must be taken into account that this is a college production. The music and sound effects chosen were exceptional—they make you feel as if you are in Persia, or in the middle of Times Square.
Through an almost completely female cast, Montclair State’s production of Grote’s 1001 is overall an intriguing and perplexing play. And however puzzling it may be, it is certainly a play that is well worth watching.