On their last weekend in San Francisco before their deployment to Vietnam, three young soldiers play the cruel tradition of finding the “ugliest” girl in town. Rules are set, bets are made, and the search begins.
Eddie Birdlace (Jason Mooney) stumbles upon a young woman with a gorgeous voice at a local cafe. A dreamy singer-songwriter wannabe a few years ahead of her time, Rose Fenny (Raissa Marchetti-Kozlov) is everything Birdlace could ever want… to win the bet.
Dogfight is the coming of age for a young woman who has been deemed unattractive by typical convention. As she navigates her journey, she breaks down the stereotypes of what it means to be beautiful. Of what it means to be worthy of love, and deserving of care and consideration. Raissa Marchetti-Kozlov plays Rose with an acute tentativeness as she pushes past her fears.
Simultaneously we follow Birdlace as he pushes past his prejudices and begins to hold himself accountable for his toxic behavior. It is a refreshing take in a sea of media that celebrates things like physical transformation, diet culture, and exterior upgrades. In Dogfight, we go under the skin to evaluate what it truly means to transform. Birdlace just as much, if not more than Rose, has to learn to grow and cope with his environment.
Kozlov also serves as Producer and Company Director for the Redwood City Players. This new company clearly has a direct vision and a want to create meaningful content. Kozlov’s voice is not only present in this musical, but also in the curaton of her work. Casting has been done inclusively and we see faces that may normally be overlooked in the process. The ensemble is strong, evoking an air of genuity in this musical’s site-specific stage. As with all site-specific venues, sound is an issue, with instrumentation overtaking the actor’s voices. Otherwise an incredibly solid venture for such a fresh company. Beautiful and poignant, Dogfight is not to be missed.
Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, of Dear Evan Hansen fame, based on the book by Peter Duchan, film adaptation of Nancy Savoca’s film of the same name.
Dogfight is performing now until July 29th at the American Legion in Redwood City. For more information visit www.redwoodcityplayers.org
What a lovely review! Though I thought it was cast and directed by Marley Teter?
There’s often too many people behind the scenes to credit in a single review but thank you for the mention.