NPX Weekly Round-Up: Letters to Mopaki by Karyn Raynor
It's Pride Month, so you know I gotta start repping with a sweet sapphic romance! Plus three other plays I'm excited about this week.
I’m meeting all sorts of amazing theater artists down here in North Carolina, and boy, it’s a bit of a reality check for someone who was told from age six to age, like, twenty-two, that the only place to really “evolve” or “make it” in theater was New York City. Don’t get me wrong, I WILL walk amongst the New Yorkers once more (and yes that IS a little bit of a threat lol). But it’s been so enlightening to see how people everywhere are making theater— not just doing the same old musicals over and over again like I anticipated.
I’m starting to ask around my new theater community for plays written by North Carolinians, even people from right here in Wilmington, and I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the talent here. You’ll be seeing a few plays from them in the coming weeks, that’s for sure! But the first one I’m going to talk about is this one— Letters to Mopaki by Karyn Raynor.
Here’s a short summary of the play from NPX:
Two best friends discover a mysterious letter that connects them to a love story that transcends time and history.
What, I told you it was short! But it’s more than enough to peak someone’s interest, especially if that someone is a gushy and romantic sapphic (Me. It’s me.).
Letters to Mopaki begins with best friends, Lisa and Joni, discovering some old letters in a box Lisa bought from the thrift store. The interesting bit? The letters were clearly never sent. Each one details a small slice of a tragic and queer love story that the girls (well, Joni at least) cannot help but investigate. When they find the daughter of the owner of the letters, they embark on a journey to California to discover who “Mopaki” is, and what exactly went down between her and her lover, Marian.
This story is tragic, sweet, mushy, and beautiful all at the same time. We have the modern day love story that is sadly never fully closed of Joni and Lisa (Lisa has clearly been in love with Joni since college) mirroring the tragic forbidden love story of Marian and Monica (“Mopaki” is her nickname, composed of her first and last names shoved together). Growing up in the 1950’s, Monica and Marian were unable to even name what their relationship truly was until both had experienced a lot of life’s adversities. Marian marries an abusive man who ends up dying in a drunk driving accident, leaving her to raise a daughter by herself, and Monica is a successful journalist unable to be her true self for fear of losing her career. It’s a very Portrait of a Girl on Fire situation, except a century or so later. Joni and Lisa, on the other hand, seem to portray a sapphic love story that many are familiar with— Joni is either bisexual or straight, and Lisa watches, helpless, as guy after guy treats her like garbage.
As a reader, I desperately wanted to see a more concrete conclusion to Joni and Lisa’s relationship, but I understood that perhaps that was not the point of the play. That perhaps, leaving it unsaid was even a part of it. There is something so real about the lack of closure, even though I wanted it! And I think it could definitely be saying something about how sapphic love has been perceived over the years, even by the sapphics within it— that often there seems to be an understanding, sad and yet beautiful, that perhaps this is not forever. But that does not make it any less worth it.
Raynor’s characters have very distinct voices, which is what I’m taking from this work as a playwright. Monica is always fucking with people, Victoria (Marian’s daughter) is so straightforward, Lisa is so anxious yet determined, and Joni is the epitome of a stubborn free spirit. And these things are so evident in the way they speak to each other! I knew very clearly who these women were and never needed to look back at the character list to clarify, “Wait, who’s that again?” The way they related to each other was distinct, and a lot about their relationships didn’t need to be stated to be understood, such as Lisa’s love for Joni.
Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this play and look forward to reading more and more from this wonderful theater community I have recently joined!
Here’s my official recommendation from NPX:
A sweet historical reminder that sapphic people have always existed and will always exist <3 Lovely and dynamic characters whose relationships just make sense. This piece would do well with a small company intent on making it the best it possibly can be!
Have you read this play? Let me know your thoughts by replying to this email or messaging me on the SubStack app!
Here are three more plays I’m super intrigued by this week:
Eight One Eight Two by Rishi Chowdhary
THE PHYSICS FOR POETS CLUB by Nora Louise Syran
Stuck in Street View by Lou Jones
Want me to read one of these plays, or perhaps yours? Reply to this email or message me on SubStack and I’ll gladly add it to the list!
Happy reading!
~Brynn