Life, death and Walt Whitman are subject to heightened scrutiny in the explosive two-hander I And You. Referring to the project Caroline (Kayla Ferguson) and Anthony’s (Reggie D. White) English teacher assigns to explore the meaning of pronouns in Whitman’s seminal poem “Song of Myself,” I And You brings together two teens who normally orbit in different worlds. Caroline is an artistic shut-in, home sick from school with a life-threatening liver disease. Anthony is a saxophone-playing jazz lover, basketball star, and do-gooder classmate who volunteers to pair with the mysterious “sick girl” on their English project. When Anthony shows up unexpectedly in Caroline’s bedroom, she immediately throws up a self-protective shield of sarcasm and “too cool for school” attitude.
Anthony responds by communicating with lines of poetry. He is really passionate about the Whitman poem and is unrelenting in his enthusiasm to recruit Caroline to his side and help him with his pitiful presentation, including a truly sad poster. Caroline resists at first but eventually yields, as this is something at which she excels given her eye for aesthetics and love of glitter. Soon, the sparks fly as the pair debate the merits of poetry, share “their music” (hers is an unexpected love of Jerry Lee Lewis), and discuss teenagery things like Facebook and disappointing their parents. Things get really personal when the two hit on the subject of their hopes and fears. Caroline has dreams but they are so hampered by her illness she barely allows herself to dwell on them. Her despair moves Anthony and he becomes determined not to let her fall into that pit.
Ferguson and White do a spectacular job of capturing the awkward jitteriness of teenagers. Their speech is natural, filled with “likes” and “ummms.” They talk over each other. They can’t sit still. It’s really like being in a room with two teens, watching them talk about stupid things they won’t care about in 10 years. Things do eventually get real though, and the play, written by Lauren Gunderson, really captures the uncertainty of youth, that indescribable feeling of not knowing what your future will bring and the frustration of not really being able to control it. The direction (Sean Daniels) keeps the one-act moving quickly and, before you know it, you’re breathlessly waiting to see what will happen to these unlikely, fast friends. I can promise you, it isn’t at all what you expect.
Heart-breaking, humorous, and chilling, I And You is a good reminder that being a teenager is not easy, especially when death is literally knocking at your door. But at least there is jazz, glitter, and Leaves of Grass to soften the blows.
