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“PEERLESS”: Performances are underway for Princeton Summer Theater’s production of “Peerless.” Written by Jiehae Park and directed by Eliyana Abraham, the play runs through July 30 at Princeton University’s Hamilton Murray Theater. Above: In a modern twist on “Macbeth,” M (Sydney Hwang, left) is pressured by L (Gaea Lawton) to murder a high school classmate who has been given a coveted spot at a competitive college. (Photo by Faith Wangermann)
By Donald H. Sanborn III
Competition to get into universities often is justly described as “cutthroat,” but one would like to think that nobody would take that literally.
Yet that is precisely the plot of Peerless, with which Princeton Summer Theater (PST) is concluding its season. In playwright Jiehae Park’s modern, darkly humorous twist on Macbeth, a high school senior pressures her twin sister to murder a classmate who has been given a coveted spot at an elite institution, identified only as “The College.”
Originally produced by the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, Peerless received its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theater in 2015. The play was presented off-Broadway last year. It was nominated for a 2023 Off Broadway Alliance Award, in the category of Best New Play.
In the program, PST Executive Director Angelica Qin notes that Peerless is the “first play in PST’s long history to be written by an Asian American playwright.”
Eliyana Abraham directs this production. Abraham observes in a program note, “The show’s relevance in a town like Princeton, where the university exerts an immense cultural influence over the community, cannot be understated, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action.”
Although evocative of the macabre Heathers or a teen-centered film directed by John Hughes, Park’s basic plot borrows enough from Shakespeare that it is worth remembering the story of the classic. A trio of witches predicts that Macbeth, a general in King Duncan’s army, will become King of Scotland. The ambitious Macbeth is prodded by his even more ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, into murdering King Duncan.
Later, fearing the suspicions of his one-time comrade Banquo, Macbeth has Banquo murdered. Subsequently, at a banquet, Macbeth is confronted by Banquo’s ghost. In the end — fulfilling another prophesy — Macbeth himself is killed by Macduff, a thane who is loyal to King Duncan.
In Peerless Macbeth becomes an Asian American woman, M (played by Sydney Hwang, who successfully conveys the character’s moral uncertainty), and Lady Macbeth becomes M’s manipulative twin sister, L (whose steely ruthlessness is conveyed by Gaea Lawton, in an equally successful performance).
Duncan becomes the guileless D (Ed Horan, whose restless, staccato line delivery suggests that the character is a bit edgy), a 1/16th Native American classmate who has received the letter of admission sought by M and L. (Amusingly, college mailings fall from the ceiling — clearly meant to signify gifts from the heavens.)
The three witches are condensed into a character identified as Dirty Girl (who is given an entertainingly over-the-top portrayal by Nora Aguiar). Dirty Girl opens the play by staring at a trash can, bathed in an eerie red light, that clearly is intended to double as a cauldron, and delivering an enigmatic line of dialogue: “I said yes, but not yet.”
Echoing Shakespeare’s witches, Dirty Girl maniacally greets M with “Hail!” In case it is not already clear that Dirty Girl fills the role of the witches, Park gives her the Witch of the West’s famous “And your little dog, too” line from The Wizard of Oz.
Banquo becomes M’s boyfriend BF (Christien Ayers, who paints the character as earnest and reserved). Dual roles are performed by Horan and Aguiar, who double as, respectively, D’s Brother and a Preppy Girl at The College.
In place of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter is Park’s often terse phrases — M, confident in her ability to exceed an institution’s diversity requirements, succinctly describes herself as a “double minority.” As with another teen-centered play, The Wolves, there is a great deal of overlapping dialogue.
L pressures M into helping her get D out of the way, so that D’s spot at The College will go to M. (Strategically, L decides to wait a year to apply.) To accomplish this, L and M meet D at the high school’s “Hoop-coming” dance, and seduce him into letting them accompany him home.
Once there they arrange to surreptitiously give D — who has severe food allergies — a snack containing nuts. This scene, which requires careful blocking and pacing to be believable, boasts some of Abraham’s strongest, most crisp direction.
In the subsequent scenes, the twins confront the consequences of their actions, in particular the reactions of their peers. (The once immaculate lockers are defaced with graffiti that bluntly spells “liars.”)
Set Designer Jeffrey Van Velsor tends to choose a visually spare, uncluttered look, allowing the high school to be represented by a row of lockers and a few desks. On either side of the stage, the walls are filled with pennants for universities, immediately establishing what is on the characters’ minds. Behind the lockers is a fence, underlining the themes of gatekeeping and trying to overcome a barrier — by any means necessary.
Sound Designer Colin Lansky adds noises, such as a bell and pop music, that enhance the high school setting. At a key moment in the show, he adds reverb to a character’s voice to create an eerie — ghostly — effect.
Hwang and Lawton perform well together, seamlessly delivering passages during which their dialogue overlaps, and ends simultaneously. Jointly, the actors enhance the play’s depiction of the extent to which, for students, high school life and the college admissions process often are performative.
Passages in which M and L have an intense conversation or a fierce argument end with the duo hastily flashing serene, showy smiles that would be expected in a beauty pageant.
This concept is reinforced by Kat McLaughlin’s lighting, which is color coordinated with Clara Bloom’s costumes. Bloom outfits the twins in the same impeccable outfit; to distinguish the sisters, M is given a red top (and matching headband), while L is given a yellow one. (By contrast, Dirty Girl is given a large, rather sloppily fitting trench coat.) McLaughlin frames the stage with square lights that are tinted, alternatively, red and yellow.
The twins’ identities are signified by what they wear, and — particularly for L — their lives are a show in which they always need to fill the starring roles. The fact that certain other characters, such as Dirty Girl and D’s Brother, are given descriptions rather than regular names or initials, echoes the way the twins view those around them.
Key themes of Macbeth are ambition and fate versus free will. Peerless examines both of these themes, while adding a focus on self-entitlement. In particular, L and M embody a (currently all too common) need to keep something claimed as one’s own away from someone of a different demographic — anyone perceived as other.
With Peerless, PST closes its season with a play that examines relevant cultural issues from a fresh perspective, while entertaining the audience with some lively characterizations and a slick production that manages to simultaneously belie and reinforce the piece’s dark undercurrent.
“Peerless” will play at the Hamilton Murray Theater in Murray Dodge Hall, Princeton University, through July 30. For tickets, show times, and further information visit princetonsummertheater.org/peerless.
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