Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ 2015 play, in its Orange County premiere at Chance Theater, homes in on the world of publishing.
While movies that unfold in the workplace are fairly commonplace, plays in that setting are far and few between.
That makes “Gloria” something of interest for theater-goers. The dramedy by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins focuses on the lives of those in the U.S. workplace in general and the publishing industry in particular.
Along the way, it gives us an inside look at the cutthroat milieu of the ultra-competitive world of major media in the Big Apple circa the 21st century.
The play was developed at the off-Broadway Vineyard Theater and made its debut there in May 2015. In 2016, “Gloria” became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
While “Gloria” has been on the scene for nearly a decade and covers topics most can relate to, it has never been produced in Orange County. Chance Theater is about to remedy that lack in a new production directed by Marya Mazor, who has a hefty roster of credits at the Anaheim Hills venue as well as throughout Southern California.
The Director Excavates the Play’s Themes and Significance
Mazor told Culture OC the play revolves around “a group of 20-something New Yorkers, working at a prestigious literary magazine, all of whom are vying to work their way up in an industry in decline.
“They’re fiercely competitive and, at times, deeply unkind to one another, and they struggle to find their place in a field that fosters a culture of scarcity and in which opportunities are dwindling.”
She said the play and playwright ask us, “What is the price we pay for success in today’s society?” Even more crucial: “Is it worth it?’”
Chance’s website describes the initial scenario as “the office of one of New York’s most esteemed cultural magazines.” The plot kicks into gear as “a seemingly normal day turns out to be anything but” as “a group of twenty-something editorial assistants recognize an opportunity to seize a career-defining moment.”
The character of Gloria, played at Chance by Branda Lock, uncovers the “cutthroat ambitions” of her peers, triggered by “a shocking event” that causes their otherwise routine day to “spiral into chaos.”
The troupe’s site asks us, “Who has the right to tell whose story?” and calls the play “simultaneously funny and shocking.” It calls the play “an adrenaline rush of a show as … Jacobs-Jenkins skewers the cutthroat, opportunistic culture of modern media.”
PHOTO 1: Audrey Forman, Emma Laird, Will Martella and Johnathan Middleton in "Gloria" at the Chance Theater. PHOTO 2: Branda Lock, left, who plays the title character Gloria, and Emma Laird in “Gloria." PHOTO 3: Erik Scilley and Emma Laird in "Gloria." PHOTO 4: Will Martella, Emma Laird and Audrey Forman. PHOTO 5: Will Martella and Johnathan Middleton play magazine publishing workers. Photos courtesy of the Chance Theater and Doug Catiller.
Themes That Resonate With our Times
And so Jacobs-Jenkins uses satire to examine the dark underbelly of the media industry, exploring themes of ambition, exploitation and the stories we tell ourselves and others. The New York Times described “Gloria” as “whip-smart,” while the Hollywood Reporter defined it as “provocative and playfully theatrical.”
Mazor said that through the script’s intense commentary toward the cost of success and the playwright’s use of biting humor, the play provides audiences “a gripping experience that will challenge their views on modern-day media and the personal toll of ambition.”
She keyed in on the play’s title, “the name of one of the central characters, but she also is associated with a key event that happens at the end of act one.”
Reluctant to reveal any spoilers, Mazor said “the name seems particularly fitting in light of the fact that all of the characters are struggling with issues of ambition and achievement or ‘glory.’”
These young adults “struggle to find their place in a field in which opportunities are dwindling, and the cubicle claustrophobia, combined with the state of the industry, fosters a culture of scarcity,” the director said.
Too High a Cost
“We live in a society,” Mazor said, “in which the 24-hour news cycle and cult of celebrity have elevated the pursuit of fame at all costs.”
Jacobs-Jenkins’s “Gloria” “allows audiences to question their own behaviors and how the pursuit of culturally-celebrated concepts of success – awards, recognition, financial rewards – can come at the cost of both our own mental health and our core values of treating others with humanity and respect.”
Delving deeper into what playwright and play aspire toward, Mazor relates that “we live in an ‘attention’ economy – one in which getting people to pay attention yields social status and remuneration.
“Being an ‘influencer,’” she said, “is an actual job description. This is a play which asks audiences to look at how this economy pushes us to commodify events that do