Matt Weir / The Collegian
“Welcome Home Jenny Sutter will provide a great forum for dealing with the issue and that is what important art is all about,” Director Kathleen McKinley said.
After its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, “Welcome Home Jenny Sutter” finds a home at California State University, Fresno theatre.
Theatre arts major, Kelsey Oliver portrays the lead role of 30-year-old Marine Jenny Sutter. As a single mother of two daughters, Sutter is ashamed to see her young girls face to face due to vivid memories and a limb lost from the war.
“The story is dealing with Sutter’s struggle as she tries to reintegrate into society,” Oliver said. “It’s a very relevant piece to our time because it’s about the Iraq war.”
As Sutter arrives at a southern California bus station, she encounters a strange woman named Lou. Not quite ready to return to reality or her family because of unsettling war memories, Sutter accompanies Lou to a desert town called Slab City, where most of the story takes place, Oliver explained.
Oliver said the characters in “Welcome Home Jenny Sutter,” are very involved in each other’s lives much like the cast itself while working on the play.
“The play is relatable and focuses on current issues,” Oliver said. “This is what’s happening now.”
Director Kathleen McKinley intensely vocalized the issues surrounding the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq to enlighten the student actors of the impact of war.
“Most people you ask would probably say, ‘no we are not in war,’” McKinley said. “Yet the media updates the public with Iraqi and American casualties daily.”
Donald, played by theatre arts major Bryce Earp, believes similarities are evident between issues Vietnam veterans dealt with and the issues Iraq veterans currently deal with.
Donald hides behind a nasty demeanor to mask his insecurities and painful experience memories.
Earp said students considering attending the play should know that the play does not intend to criticize the war, but to explain the difficulty veterans face assimilating into the society they once were a part of.
“It draws parallels to what happens to veterans who return home and no one understands what they’ve gone through.” Earp said.
As a resident of Slab City and a fellow veteran himself, Donald’s attempt at masking his feelings is the opposite of co-character, Buddy, who takes more of a positive preacher role in the community.
A first-time instituted discount will be given to all military personnel.
“Welcome Home Jenny Sutter” opens Friday, Oct. 30, in the Dennis & Cheryl Woods Theatre at California State University, Fresno.
Danielle Gilbert contributed to this story.