Review: ‘i never asked for a gofundme’ at Actor’s Express starts with a strong premise, loses focus

“Disjointed” is the only word that comes to mind after seeing i never asked for a gofundme, a world premiere play that buckles under the weight of conflicting impulses despite good intentions and a clever premise. 

Running through October 25 at Actor’s Express, i never asked for a gofundme is about Millie (Erin North) who is moving back to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, for a research fellowship. At the same time, Millie’s partner, Avery (Janice Amaya), is recovering from top surgery, a fact Millie is eager to hide from her narrow-minded neighbors. However, when local busybody Loretta (Deadra Moore) hears Millie picking up Avery’s meds from the pharmacy, she mistakenly assumes Avery has breast cancer and launches a GoFundMe to raise money for treatment.

At first glance, this premise has potential. There is weight to Millie’s internal conflict as she finds herself caught between the guilt of lying to her community about a major illness and the justifiable fear of having people find out her partner is trans. The premise also criticizes the hypocrisy of fundamental Christians who pat themselves on the back for offering financial support while still openly proclaiming that Millie and Avery are going to hell.

Unfortunately, not only is the premise not well-utilized, it’s all but done away with by the second half, replaced by a meandering plot about Loretta coming to grips with her bigotry while Millie attempts to reconcile her current life and relationship with her family’s beliefs. Any one of these storylines could have been engaging on their own, but, instead, they are mashed together with no cohesive through line, leaving the play thematically and structurally jumbled.

It doesn’t help that the dialogue is stiff and pedantic, often resorting to didactic lectures about queer identity and acceptance that feel unnatural and out of place. The characters will frequently say things that make no sense in context and serve only to set up the next argument or monologue. One can sense playwright Jayne Deely’s hand in everything the characters do, which makes all of their actions and dialogues feel inorganic.

This is to say nothing of how tonally confused the play is. At times, Deely seems to be shooting for realism, but then the play will employ heightened theatrical devices that gesture at some kind of spiritual undertone that is never fully fleshed out. These moments are embodied by Niko Carleo (they/them), who plays numerous roles referred to collectively in the program as “The Coven.” The Coven is made up of various spiritual guides who appear to the characters in times of crisis, including Dolly Parton, Walter Mercado, Mary Magdalene and Marjorie Taylor Green. Carleo is a talented and charismatic actor, but not even they can make these interludes feel like they belong in an otherwise grounded play. If Carleo’s role were removed, it would make the storyline feel more cohesive.

Some redemption is found in the cast, all of whom turn in strong performances even as they struggle to make the dialogue sound natural. Deadra Moore gives the best performance, managing the impressive feat of making the audience feel bad for the sanctimonious Loretta. Erin North also brings an awkward charm to Millie’s anxious people-pleasing. Janice Amaya and Wendy Melkonian (who plays Millie’s well-intentioned but ignorant mother Gail) are both strong performers who are given a limited amount to work with.

The design team does their best to deliver on moments of heightened theatricality. In a particularly impressive scene, Millie’s guilt over the get-well-soon meals being brought by Avery’s well-wishers causes her to hallucinate her partner being eaten alive by a monstrous casserole dish. Though the scene is tonally out of place, credit must be paid to lighting designer David Reingold and props designer Nick Battaglia for accomplishing such a feat.

There are also clever touches in Jess Ford’s set design, including a handful of Mardi Gras beads hung from the proscenium. But this, too, feels misplaced, as the breast imagery in the play is so secondary to the religious imagery.

There’s a glimmer of an interesting story here, and it’s clear that Deely is attempting to grapple thoughtfully with both the harm caused by religious hypocrisy and religion’s potential for communal healing, which is commendable. But the execution is so scattershot that none of the ideas feel supported. With significant tightening and a clear focus, i never asked for a gofundme could be an intriguing work. As is, it’s simply exasperating. 

Where and When 

i never asked for a gofundme is at Actor’s Express through October 25. Tickets around $45.
887 W. Marietta St. NW, Ste. J-107.

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Luke Evans is an Atlanta-based writer, critic and dramaturg. He covers theater for ArtsATL and Broadway World Atlanta and has worked with theaters such as the Alliance, Actor’s Express, Out Front Theatre and Woodstock Arts. He’s a graduate of Oglethorpe University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and the University of Houston, where he earned his master’s.