Jamaica, Farewell

Playwright/actress Debra Ehrhardt mesmerizes in her staged one-woman, autobiographical recounting of her ordeal leaving her birthplace in Jamaica, Farewell. Her storytelling captivates and keeps you in suspense, eager to follow her from one harrowing obstacle or pleasurable experience to the next.

Ms. Ehrhardt charmingly chameleons into the over-ten different characters, both female and male, she encounters in her quest to get to the promised land of the United States, all without costume changes (save one scarf), props, or set alterations, and simply by using accents and altered body language.

Ms. Ehrhardt must be a fan of Carol Burnett as she hilariously uses Ms. Burnett's trademark Mrs. Wiggins' booty walk to maximum effect to depict a friendly madam she encounters. Ms. Ehrhardt's own booty shaking is not too shabby either!

Ms. Ehrhardt makes utmost use of set designer Francois-Pierre Couture's set, the stage sparsely decorated with various pieces of luggage piled up in different configurations to depict the various locations like a hotel room, a bar, the visa office, a taxi, airport customs. The wooden slat wall, the width of the stage upstage, gives just enough of a suggestion of being in Jamaican country.

Ms. Ehrhardt transitions smoothly between dramatic scenes of being bullied and possibly raped intercut with multiple comedy bits. She describes her dad as Elvis mixed with a little Bob Marley. In making excuses for him, she explains, "My dad's out with his friends again: Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, and Captain Morgan."

Mooning over Jack - her new possible future husband and ticket to the US, she compliments, "He's like 007, or at least double-05 or double -06." She falls for one of Jack's pick-up lines: "Don't wear any shoes. Your feet won't be touching the ground."

Director Joel Zwick (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) keeps Ms. Ehrhardt moving at a smooth, rapid clip in this intermission-less 95-minutes tour-de-force. Complex lighting and sound effect cues are timed perfectly.

There's one thing I have to know: how did she explain the disappearance of her heavy piece of smuggled luggage after Jack returned from the bathroom? If anyone runs across the actress out on the street, ask her for me, huh?

Or I guess she could answer it onstage, right? She should.