A Good Farmer at South Camden Theatre Company Shares a Lesson for us All

by M. Smith

It is no secret that theatre is sometimes used as an escape from reality. When you go to see a show, it may be after a long day or you are just interested in being whisked away to a reality that isn’t your own. However, for many, that privilege is not always available to them, as their reality and the challenges that they are facing is not something that they can simply escape from. In today’s political climate, people are facing violence and being forcibly removed from their families and the lives that they have created. Meanwhile, even as this violence and violation of rights is occurring, the main conversation surrounds whether someone came here “legally” or not rather than seeing the humans that are having to face these traumatic events. In its New Jersey Regional Premiere, A Good Farmer by Sharyn Rothstein tackles this exact message — how we need to instead see that these atrocities are happening to people who have families and have worked hard to establish a life for themselves and their loved ones rather than question their immigration status (which is frankly no one's business other than theirs). Directed by Scott Grumling, A Good Farmer tells the story of a small town in upstate New York whose community is uprooted due to a drastic increase in ICE raids, and how friendships and relationships are tested as the conversation around supporting immigration grows ever more present. This shows the compassion and empathy that is crucial to these kinds of conversations, and how easy it is for the conversation to become too focused on legality rather than seeing people as people. As you come to see this show, always make sure to keep this in mind, and be prepared to see a work of art that is magnificent to behold in Camden, NJ at South Camden Theatre Company.

Along with this phenomenal cast, A Good Farmer is also composed of a multi-talented crew! With such a phenomenal show, the creative team behind this transports audiences into this world and brings these stories to life. To start, we have the Lighting Designer, Hunter A. Mountz, and Sound Designer, Ashley Reiter, whose work coalesces into a seamless transition between scenes and brings the ambience and world building to the production. The world building does not just stop there, as we also have the fantastic work of the Scenic Designer, Robert Bingaman, and Scenic Assistants, Deborah Sperry, Jean Harden, Steve Segal, Jordan Feld, and Joe Wilmes, for the stunning physical space that this production is able to take place in. From the fantastical scene transitions to the stunning execution of the stage itself, the stage brings the world to life in numerous ways and is a beautiful culmination of the work of the team. As we discuss the setting of the stage, the dedicated team including Costume Designer, Louise Gareau, and Props Manager, Pam Staley, help to bring the actors on the stage to life as well. The costumes truly bring a small town charm to their creation and the use of real-life props especially drew the audience into the scene and felt like the actors were truly living it. With all of these technical elements, none of them would have been possible without the stage management team, including Stage Manager, Melody Moore, and Stagehand, Samantha Coyle. Moore and Coyle worked together as an efficient team to seamlessly transition between scenes and ensure that everything ran smoothly as if a well-oiled machine. Finally, it is essential to give props to the Director, Scott Grumling, for directing this production of A Good Farmer, and helping to bring this story to life. As this is my first time seeing and hearing about this show, it truly is one that will stick with me, and that is thanks to the immensely talented actors and design teams that went behind bringing this art to life.   

We open the show in Elba, NY on a small cabbage farm where we meet Bonnie Johnson (played by Neena Boyle), the owner of the cabbage farm that after the passing of her husband, David Johnson (played by William McHattie).  From the beginning, the audience can tell the toll that the farm has taken on Bonnie, and how she is struggling to make ends meet and provide for both the staff on the farm as well as her son. Boyle truly brings the energy needed to this role as a struggling mother, farmer, and boss and how all of these roles can truly wear someone down. Furthermore, with this being a small town, the theme of relationships is key to understanding the nuances and complicated connections that everyone in this town has. For Boyle, they effectively show a difference in perspective from how Bonnie interacts with each community member and her friend Carla Gutierrez (played by Natalie Payán). We are introduced to Carla in the first scene where she chats with Bonnie about her recent dream about an ICE raid that she cannot do anything about. Payán brings a meticulous performance to their character that showcases the connection that Carla has with Bonnie while also being able to show the immense stress of having to deal and worry about a situation your friend doesn’t really understand. Although they have a wonderful relationship, there are moments where Bonnie does not understand how serious an ICE raid would be for Carla, and continues to tell Carla that, “... we won’t have to worry about that.” This is an interesting dynamic that complicates the relationship between Carla and Bonnie, and both Payán and Boyle display this complicated relationship beautifully on the stage. For Boyle, we see how they bring forward someone who is dealing with many things all at once and still grieving their partner and the potential loss of their farm. For Payán, we see someone who is also dealing with numerous things going on while worried about the potential of being forcibly taken from the life that Carla has created for herself and her family here. This back and forth between Boyle and Payán is dynamic on stage, and showcases that even when someone is a close friend, they can still not full understand what you are going through. All in all, Boyle and Payán truly brought a wondrous performance to the stage that led to a standing ovation from the crowd on opening night. 

One of the key themes that we are introduced to in this show is the idea that everyone has a skeleton in their closet. With A Good Farmer taking place in a small town, everyone appears to know everything about everyone, especially Rosemary Devlin (played by Leah O’Hara, the town gossip who proclaims herself the CEO of the PTA. O’Hara brings the quintessential small town energy to the stage that oddly enough reminded this author of his small hometown. The superficial facade combined with the passive aggressive judgement that O’Hara brings to the stage is engaging to witness. As Devlin has established herself as a “pillar” in the community due to her involvement in the PTA, she takes it upon herself to guilt her peers to become just as involved while also spreading gossip at any point she can. We see this first hand when she talks about one of the community members, Gabe DuBay (played by Ryan Michael-Henzes), a recently divorced conservative townsperson who effectively reflects the close-minded nature of the town. Michael-Henzes accurately reflects the grating, small mindedness of Gabe on the stage and their menacing impact in the story is one that definitely reflects the venomous rhetoric characteristics of Gabe. Michael-Henzes enters scenes with an anger and intimidation from their portrayal of Gabe that stuns the audience and brings out the worst of the people in the town. Both O’Hara and Michael-Henzes bring this secrecy and facade into their performance, but both have key moments where they let their facade shift ever so slightly to reveal the people underneath. For Rosemary, we see this primarily in her actions with Bonnie, and O’Hara truly brings this weaponized vulnerability into their performance in engaging ways. For Gabe, we start to see this shift for a brief second during a separate interaction with Bonnie, and Michael-Henzes brings this menacing intimidation tactic to their character that truly showcases Gabe as an irredeemable character whose only option is to push others down to get more power. However, we see that even with everyone having a skeleton in their closet, the community instead focuses on the increase in ICE raids to focus on those stories instead. While these characters are quick to shift the conversation surrounding their skeletons, they have no issue with prying into other’s lives. This production truly brings this to the forefront early on in the production to show that every person has a story to tell, and that it is not someone’s place to force someone else to tell their story. 

While we have a presence of invasiveness throughout the production, there is also a theme of love and support as well. This initial support begins with the characters Lu (played by Angie Goode) and David Johnson. In a flashback, we see how Bonnie and Carla’s relationship began, back in a hospital seven years prior to the start of the play. Here we are introduced to Lu, a heartwarming and caring nurse at the hospital who is taking care of both David and Johnson. Goode truly brings this same love and support into every moment in their performance. For Lu, she does not judge someone based on their life, but rather respects them as a person and only wants them to feel supported and loved. Goode in this role emanates this energy on the stage to the point where it is hard not to smile whenever their character enters the scene. Furthermore, we see Lu be the first person to stick up for Carla and try to give her a chance to help her build a good life for her and her family. We also see this same support through David Johnson, where McHattie offers Carla a job on the farm regardless of her immigration status. When he is initially questioned about this by Bonnie, he replies, “We all came here as illegal immigrants,” showing that he is not as concerned about Carla’s immigration status, but more concerned about how he can help her take care of her family. McHattie brings this youthful support to their character in numerous ways, and getting to see another character help Carla with no preconceived notions or hesitations was refreshing to see. McHattie’s comical wit and timing bring a lightness to this production that helps to contextualize how we got to our present day setting. With this support, we see a beautiful friendship blossom between David and Carla, and how that support is not something that Carla often sees in the present day of the production. Payán, Goode, McHattie, and Boyle all show this support in their portrayals of their characters and how we need to have this same love and support for everyone in a community.

In juxtaposition with the love and support between characters in the production, we also see the immense grief and loss that comes with the death of someone you love as well as the disruption of ICE raids for the communities it affects. We see a combination of loss of loved ones, loss of the life you once had, and the loss of your dignity and humanity. We are first introduced to this theme of loss and grief through the passing of David Johnson prior to the events of A Good Farmer. In this we see just how hard this loss is through Boyle’s portrayal on stage. We see the grieving process in an emotional way through a combination of flashbacks as well as Bonnie’s conversations with David about the farm and everything that is going on. Boyle truly brings the grief of a loved one to the forefront of their performance and acting beats. Alongside this grief of a loved one, Payán brings forward the loss of a life you’ve worked hard to build, loss of your family, and the loss of your humanity. As we see the threat of ICE raids slowly become more present, we see how Carla’s interactions with the community members don’t revolve around checking on her and her family, but rather her immigration status. As we see more of these conversations happening Payán truly brings the loss of dignity that Carla has to face as more of the conversations focus on her status rather than how she is coping with everything going on. One of such conversations is between Carla and lawyer Rich Parks (played by T. Patrick Ryan) where we see Rich referring to immigrant populations as “you people”. In this conversation Ryan brings this dehumanizing nature of their character to the forefront of their performance on stage, and you could hear the collective gasp of the audience when he says, “ I just don’t get you people.” The inability to understand and empathize with Carla is clear in Ryan’s performance, and their performance continues to drive home the fact that there is often a dehumanizing aspect that leads to a loss of dignity and humanity. Furthermore, we see Carla’s character truly lose everything, and how she has to come to terms with it all on her own. In a community that does not understand the work that goes into coming to this country because of their privilege, Carla’s position is not one that is understood by the community surrounding her. Payán truly brings this journey for Carla to life on the stage in impeccable ways that truly will stun you. They bring the shift for Carla in honest and impactful moments and it is a performance that I will not soon forget.

After seeing this fantastic piece of art at South Camden Theatre Company, it is important to note that A Good Farmer is not a call to action, but rather a call to understanding and empathy. Too often do conversations surrounding immigration leave out the actual people that it affects. The focus relies too heavily on someone’s immigration status rather than someone’s life itself. Instead of thinking about a life and family that is being uprooted, the papers that someone has is deemed more important than the person themselves. A Good Farmer showcases how important it is to acknowledge this and let it frame how we view immigration through a humanitarian perspective. If there is one lesson that you take home with you after leaving this theatre, let it be that you should always see the person before passing judgement on an experience that you don’t know about. While there are many who do not have to worry about these conversations because it does not directly affect them, it does not change the fact that these conversations need to continue to happen in order to support those who do have to worry. I leave you with one of the last lines that Payán delivers in a powerful conclusion, “We [immigrant populations] are just like you … just with less choices.” A Good Farmer runs from now until September 21 on Fridays (09/12, 09/19) at 8:00 PM, Saturdays (9/13, 09/20) at 8:00 PM, and Sundays (09/14, 09/21) at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased here or at the link below! 

https://www.southcamdentheatre.org/