► Circle Mirror Transformation | A

The George Street Playhouse kicked off its 37th season with the perfect opener: Circle Mirror Transformation, a comedy by Annie Baker (Body Awareness, The Aliens). Starring Tony Award nominee Sandy Duncan (Peter Pan, Canterbury Tales),Baker's play conveys human interaction, relationships and self-discovery, through a common interest.

A story unfolds between five characters on day one of an acting class in Shirley, Vt. We meet Theresa (Amanda Sykes), a sexy 35-year-old actress from New York; Schultz (Tom Riis Farrell), a middle-aged carpenter, trying to take his mind off his divorce; and Lauren (Sandie Rosa), an aloof teenager who questions why she is even taking the class. James (Nick Wyman), a 55-year-old hippie father, tags along with his wife, Marty (Duncan), the acting instructor.

The class runs six weeks, noted onstage by a detailed and clever lighting effect. Through a variety of theater games and exercises, each character's pasts, struggles, strengths and weaknesses are revealed. However, what happens outside of the classroom starts to impact them individually and provides a new basis for the communication within the exercises. Stereotyping, personal secrets and even "hooping" play a role in shaping what occurs in the coming weeks. One quality of playwriting Baker succeeds in, is contrasting humorous warm-up games as learning tools, with more dramatic aspects of facing reality.        

The actors truly carry the show. Duncan is perfectly cast — she stays in character as the warm, insightful teacher all the way to end (though we never learn what her background in acting or teaching is). Rosa's portrayal of Lauren is dry and natural. She really is a typical teenager, and her oddball moments initiate laughs. Out of all the characters, she is the one who evolves the most, and you see it in Rosa's choices. Sykes's Theresa is cute, flirty and amicable. Her chemistry with the others, particularly Farrell, is charming. And Wyman's and Farrell's portrayals of the different men are very comical considering their characters are in the class for different reasons. Also, the set design of a dance studio is exact to the very last detail. It is almost as if there is an actual dance studio onstage at the theater.

When artistic director David Saint addressed the audience opening night, he stated, "This play is not about an acting class." It is more about reflecting one's life, the games people play with one another and realizing qualities of those who cross your path in life. Anyone who has ever attempted a basic acting or movement class — in high school, college or just to try one — will especially get a kick out of it.