Stellar performances drive “Maybe You Could Love Me,” a fresh take on age-old themes

There s a scene in the play Maybe You Could Love Me a fraught romance between two young Muslim women where one of the characters Noor reveals to the other Sajida that despite their intimate relationship she plans to marry a man Sajida offers a counterproposal Maybe you could love me she says Noor s response is not what Sajida hopes for No she says That s gross The exchange captures a central question in Theater Mu s world premiere by L A -based playwright Samah Meghjee How can queer love flourish in a district that doesn t condone it The play which follows its heroines from childhood through young adulthood offers elements of comedy and drama handled deftly by director Katie Bradley It s brought to life by Broadway veteran Sushma Saha as Sajida and the jaw-droppingly good Ashembaga Jaafaru as Noor The product is an excellent theatrical experience In the earliest scenes Noor is and Sajida is turning the age when she begins to wear a hijab The show picks up again nine years later by which point the friends have developed a sexual relationship and face choices about their futures Definitively in their mid- s the women grapple with the consequences of their choices Maybe You Could Love Me follows its heroines from childhood through young adulthood The play runs Sept - at Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis Credit Rich Ryan Bradley shows a keen sense of subtle comedy throughout the show alongside nuanced emotional interplay between the characters across time Unfortunately that work gets lost at times in cumbersome scene changes Scenic designer Mina Kinukawa costume designer Sarah Bahr and prop designers Kenji Shoemaker and Sarah Harris crafted meticulous representations of the three time periods but multiple set and costume changes slow the momentum of the storytelling The details are compelling but the designs could have been simplified to speed the pace Related Theater Mu s new artistic director is bringing a diverse set of skills to Minneapolis As the show progresses Sajida and Noor reveal their own struggles to balance faith and societal rules with personal desires and identity Sajida establishes herself early on as the more religious of the two friends talking about ideas that are haram or forbidden as early as her ninth birthday As a teenager she attempts to break things off with Noor as the guilt of their sexual relationship weighs on her Noor meanwhile has a looser conception of the rules and bends them freely when it suits her As a child she s funny confident and full of tricks and Jaafaru plays her with endearing impishness Playing Noor as a teen she brings wonderful comic timing and incredible facial expressiveness to the role The strongest scenes come when the characters are children Meghjee s script mines the girls complexities fearlessly as they tackle their relationship to tradition and with each other Their emotions run high their identities begin to take shape and their friendship becomes central As teenagers in a sexual relationship the young women reach an impasse Despite Noor s willingness to bend the rules when it pleases her ultimately she cares too deeply about citizens appearances and cultural norms She cannot conceive for instance of going away to college or pursuing a career Her path includes marriage children and staying at home in contrast to Sajida s dreams of scholarships and a future in the arts I struggled the the majority with the characters adult scenes While Noor has married and Sajida has gone on to become a achieving curator they ve continued a friends-with-benefits relationship Meghjee introduces a plot twist that sidelines the characters ability to resolve their impasse which feels like an unfortunate deflection from the play s central conflict one character who wants to continue the relationship in secret and another who refuses to hide Maybe You Could Love Me brings up complex questions about identity love and how to live one s truth all handled with humor and tenacity The play runs Sept - at Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis Credit Rich Ryan After the climax Meghjee returns to a scene when Noor and Sajida are children The move works well artistically giving the play a circular structure But I left the theater frustrated not knowing what happens next in the adult storyline Related Secret Warriors brings to light work of Japanese-American soldiers during WWII Still I walked away with plenty to think and talk about in the lobby and later at home That s a good sign The play brings up complex questions about identity love and how to live one s truth all handled with humor and tenacity Thanks to Bradley s sensitive direction and Jaafaru s revelatory performance Maybe You Could Love Me sparkles Theater Mu continues to take risks on new voices and Meghjee stands out as a playwright worth watching Maybe You Could Love Me runs Tuesdays through Saturdays Sept - at p m with no show on Tues Sept Sunday performances on Sept and are at p m There is an additional p m performance on Sat Sept Mixed Blood Theater S th St Minneapolis - with pay-as-you-are options Find more information here The post Stellar performances drive Maybe You Could Love Me a fresh take on age-old themes appeared first on MinnPost