An Entirely Serious Review of Lexi's Play in 'Euphoria' Episode 7
Long before I saw a group of teenagers wave their arms around, simulating ejaculation on a high school auditorium's stage while "I Need a Hero" raged in the background, I was already questioning every last decaying cell in my body. I was watching—witnessing, experiencing, living?!—Our Life, the debut play from East Highland junior Lexi Howard. (Though the play may be called This Is Life. Unclear.)
The production, which Howard reportedly developed, cast, and financed over just a few weeks, was so shocking that I'm surprised that someone, anyone from East Highland's administration didn't shut the whole thing down. Does this school not have a principal? Or teachers? Does school not happen at this school? In the packed auditorium (save for one suspiciously empty seat near the front) on opening night, I saw parents laughing. Kids whispering and making longing glares at each other. One really tall kid storm out during the "I Need a Hero" number. I seemed to be the only one wondering what the fuck was happening ,and how a 17-year-old staged an R-rated play with what looked like a six-figure budget. Have I lost it? Reader, if you weren't there—let me fill you in. Help me answer that question. Please.
Our Life—we're going with that—follows the coming of age of our humble protagonist, played by Howard, who gives us glimpses of her hopes, dreams, and musings throughout the play. She also has a Little-Women-gone-wrong gaggle of misfit family and friends, including her sister (who is played with major Glenda the Good Witch energy), and childhood friend, Jade, who develops an opioid addiction after the death of her father. Now, I would say that Howard writes each character with such an odd specificity that you'd think Our Life is really Lexi's Life, but this story is far too strange to have actually gone down in the real world.
Our Life is at its best, by far, when Howard's character addresses the audience directly—making for some genuinely riotous moments that everyone, especially the middle-aged woman in front of me who kept screaming, "THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ME," tearing up. And of course, the "I Need a Hero" dance number, while entirely inappropriate for high school theater, was biting satire of the hyper-masculine, Do you even lift bro? bros who populate locker rooms across the country. That scene alone shows that Howard may very well be the most exciting creative force (albeit the only one) in our peaceful suburb. But she has a lot to learn. Our Life, at its worst, borders on messy, hyperbolized teen drama that looks like scrapped HBO prestige. (Jade sporting a T-shirt with ART written on it? A little spot-on, don't you think, Lexi?)
I have to end on a note about the sets. The crew did such impressive work that you'd wonder whether or not Our Life was financed by drug money, but the idea that East Highland is home to a vast underworld of narcotics is pretty laughable. Where else have you seen a Hamilton-esque treadmill stage, except for in Hamilton? But one note, for Ms. Howard's lighting crew: the cues were all over the place.
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