Gabby Beans and Samuel Henry Levine as troubled stepsiblings in Roundabout Theatre’s Jonah.
The main character in Rachel Bonds’ new drama Jonah is not Jonah but Ana, a young woman portrayed from age 16 into her 30s by Gabby Beans, who’s on stage for the entire play. Jonah (Hagan Oliveras) is in only the first third, except for a brief reappearance near the end. The play peaks during those early scenes, which are charming and funny, then gets increasingly talky and disturbing in the post-Jonah scenes.
Bonds did not name her play Jonah because she intended his scenes to be better than the others, but because of his significance to Ana’s story—a significance that only becomes clear about 90 minutes into the 100-minute play. It’s sort of a surprise reveal, although there certainly are hints earlier that things may not be what they seem. (The first hint: The program states the play is set in the “past and the present. But everything is slippery.”)
Ana is initially seen as a teenager in boarding school, where Jonah is a day student. He’s vulnerable, dorky, and infatuated. She acts far more self-assured, but her outward confidence masks a shyness and yearning. After Jonah, we watch Ana’s interactions with her stepbrother Danny (Samuel Henry Levine), who’s unnervingly possessive of her. The audience doesn’t know until later that he’s not her actual brother, nor do they know whether these events take place before or after she goes to boarding school.
Hagan Oliveras as the title character in Jonah.
The next part of the play shows a grown-up Ana, now a published author, at a writers’ retreat. Her scene partner there is Steven (John Zdrojeski), who’s like a more mature version of Jonah—hesitant, awkward, smitten with Ana. How her encounters with these three guys all fit together forms the plot of Jonah. It’s an empathetic, piercing drama, yet its storytelling machinations give it an air of complexity that Ana’s fairly commonplace experiences don’t necessarily merit.
Her experience with Danny may not be “commonplace,” but it ensues from living in a dysfunctional household, which is hardly uncharted territory for dramatists. Jonah covers three phases in this woman’s life—her first romance, her traumatic family life, and her attempt at emotional healing as an adult—and while Bonds may complicate these episodes by toying with the chronology and withholding people’s identities, it isn’t a meaty story throughout. Only the section with Danny is intensely dramatic; though uncomfortable to witness at times, their relationship alone would make a compelling subject for a play.
Jonah is dragged down somewhat by stretches of conversation about mundane topics like bug bites and dorm security that are unrelated to Ana’s life journey. Her discussions of religion with Jonah and Steven seem informative rather than narratively consequential. And the scenes with Steven are conspicuously expository. “Can I ask you some questions?... What if we define distinct—general—themes, and then I’ll base each question on one of those themes?” he asks Ana, ushering in her recitation of biographical details. These words from Steven also serve to tell the audience what it needs to know (and think):
“I read your book, and I found it to be an incredibly profound and exquisitely crafted piece of writing, that I still think about all the time. And then I met you, here in this remote, farmhouse-y artist place, and you just carry so much behind your eyes. I mean, there are just worlds in there, and knowing that that book came out of you, I just want to ask you every question in the universe so I can know what you think about things.”
Ana (Beans) and Jonah (Oliveras) get to know each other. Photos by Joan Marcus.
The production is buoyed by four excellent performances, led by Beans, adding to the impressive résumé she’s built in just a few years that includes a flashy turn in last season’s I’m Revolting and her Tony-nominated performance in 2022’s The Skin of Our Teeth revival. Levine walks a fine line between sinister and pathetic as Danny, and while Zdrojeski doesn’t have the same opportunity for theatrics as his costars, he’s good in his low-key part.
In the title role Oliveras captures just the right tone and demeanor as an unlikely dream boy. Those sweet scenes at the top of the show beautifully convey feelings of young love, opposites-attract, and—for two lonely, hurting teens—finally discovering somebody you can trust. Jonah ends up telling a different story than one would expect from the Ana-Jonah scenes. It goes on to take some interesting turns, but unfortunately doesn’t sustain the momentum.
Jonah runs through March 10 at Roundabout’s Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 W. 46th St.). Evening performances are at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7:30 pm Saturday; matinees are at 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit roundabouttheatre.org.
Playwright: Rachel Bonds
Director: Danya Taymor
Sets: Wilson Chin
Costumes: Kaye Voyce
Lighting: Amith Chandrashaker
Sound: Kate Marvin
