After non-binary musician Jamie Spencer (Kid Santana) dies, their partner, Mia (Eva Montilla), and best friend, Lewis (Malik Talbert), must confront the bereaved parents, George (Roy Hamlin) and Marta (Yinelly Pastrana), who still want to engrave Jamie’s deadname on their gravestone, in “They/Who,” an achingly earnest new drama co-written and co-directed by Santana and Sam Grey.
The younger cast members are nicely naturalistic, underplaying their mounting anxiety through the opening scene, while Hamlin makes the most of his overshadowed role as the overwhelmed husband. That leaves Pastrana plenty of room to give a gutsy, invested performance as the grieving mom; her infuriatingly obtuse insistence on not using preferred pronouns grows grating, but that frustration fuels the genuinely touching reconciliation that follows.
“They/Who”‘s blocking in the intimate Brown venue can sometimes go static, with character talking to each other’s backs, and it would be all too easy to dismiss the buzzword-stocked script as politically correct comfort food that’s preaching to the choir. However, that trans community choir in question could use some comforting after being under assault. This affirming show should spark some hard conversations back home — conversations that might make things a little easier for everyone in the long run.
Orlando Fringe: Tickets and times for “They/Who”
Lowndes Shakespeare Center
This article appears in May 15-21, 2024.