The world premiere of "Dry Bones Rising" at Venus Theatre Play Shack on C Street is the first full-scale performance of a script written by Boston playwright Cecelia Raker.
The playwright, who has a Harvard College baccalaureate degree in theatre arts, said the process of writing "Dry Bones Rising" helped her to find her voice as a writer.
In E. E. Cummings style, the script's nonstop, free-flowing verse toys with the confines of language while making statements about feminism, war, religion, theology, mythology, procreation and humanity.
To say the complex work, as directed by Randall, plays as fiercely emotional, deep-thought provoking and provocative may be an understatement.
Entering the black box theater to a post-apocalyptic setting, the artistry of Randall's design team materializes in sludgy platforms representing rolling cliffs in a wasteland covered in, and named, Mud.
It is here that two young children, Her (played by Ann Fraistat) and Him (played by Erin Hanratty), find each other.
Hungry and desperate, the survivors form an alliance despite their origins on opposite sides of the "wall." Circling each other warily — Randall's choreography is superb throughout — they talk of war and a "wall" falling, calling names of "terrofist" while arguing over who will be in charge.
"I am in charge because I say so," Her says.
"I'm always in charge because I'm a Him" is the reply.
Her agrees to run away to "someplace better" only if Him will help her "fix it" all, a project that involves crafting a supernatural creature, from the toes up, from mud.
Basing much of the survivalist plot on creating the Mudman (a golem from Jewish folklore), Raker's dialogue also references kapparot (an orthodox Jewish custom) in Him's dialogue about wishing for chickens to sling over his head.
Fraistat is returning for her sixth performance at Venus Theater to deliver a gripping performance as she crosses to the dark side of an abandoned little girl's psyche.
The character Her's tantrums land so believably that they feel familiar and evoke sympathy for the character. Under other circumstances, with other words, such primal emotions might even seem normal to childhood. But here they are terrifying because the child is playing God.
Perhaps her dialogue also hints of a sexual attraction to Her's father; Fraistat's scenes where she kisses Mudman are as horrible as they are fascinating.
As Him, Hanratty is appearing for the first time on the Venus stage. She exudes such sweetness and innocence as the young boy that Him appears to be the younger child.
Him falls back on an adorable shtick imitating his Jewish father whenever he feels threatened, which Hanratty has polished to a T.
The lonely boy asks Her if she will sing to him just before making a ghastly confession. And Hanratty is mesmerizing in this, as well as an earlier and equally shocking scene involving a corpse.
Venus newcomer Allison Turkel rounds out Randall's stand-out cast to make an excellent and multi-dimensional Mudman.
From the moment the monster rises, Turkel balances a childlike innocence in mannerisms with edgy physicality suggesting the creature could turn on a dime.
And Mudman's last scene is a stealer.
Throughout the 90-minute ride, lighting and scenic designer Amy Belschner-Rhodes applies a gentle hand to the lighting, using washed out yellows with spots of green and red light to emphasize key transitions.
Sound designer Neil McFadden assigns disturbing sounds to disturbing scenes; the corpse's tingle and Mudman's beat pulse as vague sounds of destruction play in the distance.
Randall designed costumes and handled props, Tara Cariaso made Mudman's mask and Vanessa Q. Levesque did the corpse.
There are a few confusing moments. In one scene, Her talks about tattooed numbers on her arms that appear to be a Holocaust reference, a memory that would more logically belong to Him.
Overall, Raker's lovely play is open to layers and layers of interpretation.
But it is no surprise that Randall, a Helen Hayes Theatre Artist award winner, has assembled an outstanding female cast to pull together a powerful show, while serving her theater's mission to set flight to the voices of women and children.
Those who dare to submerge their own toes in the Mud may find God.
Or maybe not.
"Dry Bones Rising" continues Saturday, June 13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 1`4 at 3 p.m., at Venus Theatre, 21 C. St. General admission is $20. Buy tickets online at venustheatre.org or call 866-811-4111 for reservations.