Priyanka Shetty (center) at the post-production talk-back tonight.

MMT's 'Elephant' Production Feels Like a Gift

Mill Mountain Theatre's two-show production of Priyanka Shetty's "The Elephant in the Room," which winds up Saturday night on the main stage, feels more like a celebration gift than a play.

It comes as the emergency of Covid-19 diminishes, as cabin fever has become almost ruinous and as we all need a real break, one inside just like in the old days.

And to do it with a play--and performance--this dazzling could not be less than the gift we didn't expect.

This is the story of a young Indian woman who has come to America to seek her fortune in the theater. She is full of enthusiasm, talent, and willingness to do what it takes. But she finds out soon enough that America is a place where "the other" in race relationships is more the norm than the exception and she is definitely the very definition of other. She is Indian/American/brown/white/accented and, well, different. That makes it difficult to succeed.

But the character and Ms. Shetty find their stable feet by the end of the play. She is now a teacher in the theatre program at the University of Virginia and much of her angst began in that department as a grad student.

Mrs. Shetty's is a memorable performance and it is one that will hang with those of us who saw it for some time.

The play runs one more time Saturday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students--and they're worth every penny.