By Neil Armstrong

Playwright, director, producer and actor Marcia Brown restaged her thought-provoking play, “I Need to Know My Father,” over the Father’s Day weekend and as the dramedy unfolded it elicited laughter, instinctive reactions from the audience to scenes, and the need for there to be a resolution at the end.

That Brown can direct and play a character in this production she first presented in 2011 is a testament of her dexterity, and she shines on stage as Louise Perkins.

The play is set in Jamaica and tells the story of 16-year-old Lisa Perkins played by Krystal Victoria who is the child of Sarah Perkins acted by Tamika Wilson-Brito, and Jonathan Bonavich Jr. performed by O’Neil Taylor.

Through the lens of class, it is clear Jonathan’s wealthy family will not accept Sarah, whose grandmother Louise Perkins is their domestic worker. Shunned by his mother, Claire Bonavich, played by Michelle Dolly, and father, Jonathan Bonavitch Sr., acted by Peter Radcliffe, Sarah gives birth to Lisa, who becomes a brilliant high school student wanting to know the identity of her father—information that has long been hidden from her.

The play pits the conniving Claire Bonavich against the upright and God-fearing Louise Perkins and her husband Roy Perkins, played by Naggo Morris, who is a simple but passionate and humorous grandfather, great-grandfather, deacon and husband. It explores abortion and pro-life issues, the generational cycle of single-parenting and teenage pregnancies at age 16, survival, and fathering.

All the actors embodied their characters very well but the stush Claire Bonavich is so ostentatious that sometimes her arrogance came across as shrieks when she spoke. Both Louise Perkins and Roy Perkins provided enjoyable moments of comic relief given the undercurrent of serious issues explored.

“I Need To Know My Father highlights that parents, and ideally mother and father, are important for a child’s development and success and reminds us that classism and prejudices have ripple effects on lives, even for generations, and will ultimately bring us face to face to a higher power. Most importantly, I Need To Know My Father pinpoints “to err is human but to forgive is divine” and the “divine” turn of events will leave you wanting for more,” notes a synopsis of it.

The set of a dining room and living room and doors to each differentiated the Perkins’ place for dining and sleeping space for Sarah and subsequently Lisa, versus the luxury of the mansion of the Bonavich. The director ensured that the actors used the set effectively in their movement in and out of the houses of both families. The lighting and sound creative team accentuated the highlights of the dramedy when the intensity of the moments mattered.

What a climatic end to the series of events that stoked, provoked, and led many in the audience to want to know that things can be resolved—especially after the emotional tug at their heartstrings.

“Be prepared to be moved to tears whether from humour or that emotional crevice we seldom bring in public realms where you cry because it resonates or tears up for apathy,” notes Marcia Brown Productions.

Thought-provoking and insightful of life and things within and outside of families that impinge upon them, the play is worth seeing again. There is another opportunity to do so at Eastdale Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Oshawa, Ontario, on June 23.