REVIEW: Very Blue Light

The Tank Continues to Thrive

Ulises Ramiro

Daphne Silibiger’s Very Blue Light, presented by Isabele Chirls and at The Tank, is a nicely realized play about two women reuniting with their childhood best friend who has confusing and unaligned political views. 

The play features Dom Martello and Ellenor Riley-Condit as Magna and Angela, respectively - two best friends who moved to Marfa, TX from their hometown of Austin. It’s unclear why they moved to Marfa given the conservative-seeming nature of the town, but when their best friend from high school, Coleman (played by Sam Im) comes to visit, their views are tested. Martello, Riley-Condit and Im are all excellent. 

This dichotomy instantly comes to a head when Coleman and Magna are caught alone discussing trans rights, MAGA, large language models, and any other hot button topic you can name. Rounding out the great cast is Anita Parrott playing Michigan, who chimes in with their own takes. These back-and-forths happen a couple of times throughout the piece, and they make for rather tedious conversations that many of us have heard or had before. Some charged conversations draw the audience in closer, but some are didactic. 

The design elements of Very Blue Light, with lighting designed by Jiahao (Neil) Qiu and Elijah Thomas, sound designed by Ari Cleveland, and set designed by Raphael Mishler, elevate the show. The Tank consistently produces plays well and does so in interesting and cutting-edge ways. 

There's a lot working for Very Blue Light, but the parallel between aliens and phones is not as strong as the heartfelt discussions about identity. The discussions are largely very timely and the placement of unrequited love has an interesting dimension, but the play does lose steam at times. Overall, the piece has many strong elements and is another example of why the buzz around The Tank is warranted.