‘Four Coloring’ Reconsiders A Beloved American Icon

For better or worse, the American flag is a particularly charged and divisive symbol these days—making it an intriguing central subject for Mackenzie Raine Kirkman’s Four Coloring, which celebrated its world premiere this past weekend thanks to Lakehouseranchpng. Kirkman has also developed a fairly interesting dramatic concept to drape around this iconic emblem of American patriotism—though it seems that the resulting script falls somewhat short of realizing its theoretical potential. 

In simple terms, the play tells the story of four characters who have been inexplicably corralled for a mysterious drawing contest. As is cryptically conveyed to the foursome via an ominous projection, it seems that they have been summoned to a similarly mysterious location to create a “new American flag.” They are given frustratingly little further guidance on the matter from the unseen and unidentified force that has summoned them there—and the audience learns frustratingly little about any of the characters’ lives outside of this absurd predicament. 

The first three to materialize are referred to in the program as Red (Luis Otamendi), White (Richard Lewis), and Blue (Gabriel del Portal), with each dressed in the corresponding color. 

The fourth, and only female-presenting member of the crew, is referred to simply as Other (Charisma Jolly) and dressed in a corresponding mixture of shades. Bold, irreverent, and almost entirely unprepared for the task at hand, it is she that emerges as perhaps the most likable of the play’s sketchy sketchers. 

Thanks to the costume design of Erin Proctor, it is not only easy to tell who’s who chromatically speaking, but subtle touches help to distinguish the otherwise fuzzy characters. This is particularly true of White, whose flashy accessories and haughty attitude mark his defining attribute as pretentiousness. Nerdy know-it-all Red appropriately dons a track suit, and everyman Blue is dressed down in jeans. 

And while the flow of banter and accumulation of tension between these characters at times made for some entertaining moments, the dialogue was all too often bogged down in dry abstractions as opposed to meaningful in-the-moment stakes. Instead of reflecting on what their country or its flag means to them, or on how our divisive political climate has informed and altered those views—the characters instead spend far too much time in overly philosophical debates about the principles or symbolism and representation, which quickly becomes tiresome.

Again, it is Other who proves the exception in this regard, putting forth a powerful first design rooted in raw emotion as opposed to the audience-conscious analysis that informed her peers. Though the implication of her selected image is profound and timely, even here Four Coloring stays relatively surface-level as opposed to offering any deeper insight into a terrifying American truth.

What suspense there is to be had in this play thus has less to do with the ostensible competition between the characters and more to do with the hauntingly ambiguous nature of the competition itself. As opposed to through its ivory tower tirades, Kirkman’s script for Four Coloring most succeeded in capturing my interest when it implied a sinister or even supernatural explanation for the character’s confinement—though this, like several other of the show’s loose ends, never quite pays off into a satisfying reveal.  

Even so, director Brandon Urrutia makes the most of Four Coloring’s challenging material in their curation of the show’s design elements and in the compelling performances they help draw out of the show’s cast. Whatever these young actors lacked in experience and polish, they made up for in energy, enthusiasm, and earnest commitment to their characters’ bizarre circumstances. If anything, certain cast members could perhaps be accused of occasional overacting—possibly in an understandable effort to compensate for the play’s narrative weaknesses— but they always rose to the occasion of its pivotal moments with the necessary intensity. 

A stark and simple black set designed by Indy Sulliero works well as an ominous “blank slate” backdrop, subtly suggesting “school” through the use of desks in another effective thematic touch. 

Some ominous effects created by lighting designer Leonardo Urbina also succeed in clarifying the meaning of some key moments and giving the play a lively visual scenescape. On opening night, I noticed a few mishaps in the handling of the show’s projections, but the dialogue more-or-less made clear the meaning of any details that had been obscured.

Coming in at just under an hour and well-paced throughout, Four Coloring does have the benefit of its short running time to recommend it—by the time I figured out how the play worked enough to fully catch on to its substantial structural weaknesses, it was nearly about to conclude. Though it isn’t the best work I’ve seen from LakehouseRanchPNG, I applaud the company for continuing to take risks on fascinating and genuinely original new material. And for adventurous theatregoers who aren’t afraid of leaving a show with a few more questions than answers, this unique new piece may be worth taking a chance on. Four Coloring will only play for one more weekend and three more performances in Main Street Players’ intimate space, so there’s no time to waste in grabbing your tickets!