It’s been a few days but after watching the world premiere of Olivia Dufault’s For Want of a Horse at Echo Theater Company, I am still at a loss of what exactly the point of the play is. It’s well acted and well directed with perhaps a deep meaning to it but ultimately, it’s a play about a man who has sex with a horse. Are we supposed to be more empathetic of folks who commit such acts? Do we condemn it? Is this even a discussion worth having?

For Want of a Horse is a darkly comic, deeply human exploration of love, desire and unconventional relationships. Calvin is devoted to his wife, Bonnie. But if Calvin is going to move forward, he needs to open up their relationship to include his new romantic partner. One complication: that partner would be Q-Tip — and Q-Tip is a horse.

Before we get any further, the horse in question is played by a human (Griffin Kelly) and I commend her for taking on such a bizarre role with bewildering intensity. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Joey Stromberg, Jenny Soo, and Steven Culp, and all do a good job of committing to their characters and the strange situations they find themselves in. Director Elana Luo leans on minimalism and efficiency with the set design that moves with ease while also successfully bringing out a tremendous amount from her actors with the difficult dialogue they need to deliver, particularly with Steven Culp as PJ who has to deliver his impassioned belief in his romantic & sexual relationship with his dog.

And yet despite all these great things going for this play, I find myself perplexed at Dufault’s script and the meaning of it as well as the necessity of it. The playwright mentions that this play was inspired by them reading a 2014 New York magazine article titled “What It’s Like to Date a Horse” and thus decided that it was a story worth exploring. But is it really worth exploring? That was my biggest question as I was watching the play and could not come to a satisfactory conclusion. I know with certainty that I was not bored or fed up with it even though I can completely see many in the audience be repulsed by the subject matter.

With the character of Bonnie (Jenny Soo), there is a firm perspective that any human who wishes or commits to having sex with animals is inherently sick. Soo magnificently navigates the chaotic journey her character takes from being the initiator of her husband indulging his secret desires to becoming absolutely disgusted by it at the end but even with this, she is not the main character. And so we are left empathizing with the main lead Calvin (Joey Stromberg). In Calvin, we hear woes of his taboo desire and his mutilation and suicidal attempts to curb such a desire. Hearing those woes for myself, I become even more confused at the length the main character is given to explain himself. This is one of the few plays where I didn’t mind where the majority of the cast were white actors because if I need to be brutally candid here, only white people would get off being zoophiles and Bonnie being played by a global majority adds a new layer of “okay I’ll try to understand you crazy white people…wait, never mind, this is too much”.

If people leave the play thinking that there is value in entertainment exploring such controversial topics, I would rather have it be about matters that governments and mainstream media make such large efforts to censor especially when it comes to human/animal/environmental rights that contradict the interests of their corporate benefactors. But if it’s about whether or not we should accept people who has sex with animals? That is seriously a rough call. It becomes even rougher at the necessity of the play’s final scene which once again begs the question of why on top of an already confounding play that frustratingly does not make an opinion. And perhaps it shouldn’t define where it stands but at some point, a line does have to be drawn. Or does it? Argh.

I am not entirely sure if I can recommend this play to others but I am also not sure if I can outright dismiss it either. And perhaps this confusion is a desired result of the playwright as well as any potential outrage, disgust, fascination, and every reaction in between. For Want of a Horse opened on Saturday, April 18, with performances continuing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 4 p.m.; and Mondays at 8 p.m. through May 25.


FOR WANT OF A HORSE
• Written by Olivia Dufault
• Directed by Elana Luo
• Starring Steven Culp, Griffin Kelly, Jenny Soo, Joey Stromberg
• Presented by The Echo Theater Company, Chris Fields artistic director

WHEN:
April 15-May 25
• Previews:
Wednesday, April 15, Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m.
• Performances:
April 18 through May 25
Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8 p.m. / Sundays at 4 p.m.

WHERE:
Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

PARKING:
FREE in the Atwater Crossing (AXT) lot one block south of the theater

TICKET PRICES:
$15 – $42.75
• Pay–What–You–Want starting at $15 cash at the door plus an additional $1.50 per ticket fee if purchasing online or at the door with a credit card.
• Early Bird tickets to Friday, Saturday or Sunday performances through April 3 (available online only): $20 plus a $1.75 credit card fee.
• Tickets to Friday, Saturday or Sunday performances purchased after April 3: $40 cash with an additional $2.75 fee per ticket if using a credit card.

CONTENT WARNING:
For Want of a Horse addresses mature sexual themes in an explicit (although non-graphic) manner and is recommended for ages 18 and up.

HOW:
EchoTheaterCompany.com
(747) 350-8066