Un-Tying ‘Gidion’s Knot’ at Center Stage Conservatory
By Summer Krafft
Gidion’s Knot by Johnna Adams at Center Stage Conservatory is a tense ride of one woman trying desperately to find out the truth of who her son was. She arrives at the school for a parent-teacher conference regarding her son’s five-day suspension. In between making the appointment and showing up at the school, however, a tragedy has occurred. The result is a heated exchange between Corryn (Traci Sprague), Gidion’s mother struggling to face her grief, and the easily-overwhelmed, compassionate, but clearly new-to-teaching Heather (Carin Heidelbach). The two shine in their roles, never letting the tension drop. It leads us to question what responsibility each of them hold in the life of a child. James Kusy’s direction shines against a disturbingly realistic set of a fifth grade classroom. To highlight it all, Sprague’s son, River, both opens and closes with haunting songs in near-blackout to highlight the poignancy of the loss.
“Gidion’s Knot” will be showing at Center Stage’s Lower Level Studio at 948 Eleventh street and will have performances September 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30 and October 1 at 8:00p.m., with the 29th as a pay-what-you-can-night, as well as a 2:00p.m. matinee on September 25.
