Theater Review: Neat

Charlayne Woodard is no stranger to San Diego theatergoers. She has performed six times at the La Jolla Playhouse, most recently in the two-hander “The Garden” in 2023.

Her latest show in the area is in the moving, absolutely astonishing two-hander “Neat,” which plays through April 16 at Scripps Ranch Theatre. This is a co-production between SRT and Loud Fridge Theatre Group.

Loud Fridge Theatre Group is committed to “using the performing arts to make noise in the San Diego theatre community, by amplifying voices that have a history of being silenced, by elevating stories that have historically been denied a platform and by creating an inclusive, intersectional environment for artists and patrons.”

“Neat” is an autobiographical drama about Woodard’s aunt Beneath, known as Neat. When Neat’s grandmother accidentally gave her camphor oil instead of cod liver oil, the girl suffered irreversible brain damage. But the play shows how the damage didn’t stop her from becoming the most beloved member of the family, and the one who taught the rest of the family how to cherish life and share love.

Kandace Crystal ends up playing several family members besides Neat. She is accompanied by Nicole Diaz-Pellot, a wonderful dancer who both helps to illustrate what Crystal is saying and joins her in demonstrating the joy Neat most often feels, as she grows up, experiences adulthood and first love, and comes to embrace Black pride and feminism.

The show alternates geographically between Savannah, Georgia and Albany, New York, and chronologically from 1943 to 1972 and the country experiences the beginnings of the drive toward social racial equality. There is talk here about the Black Student Association and the Black Panthers.

Claire Simba directs this amazing combination of spoken word, dance and visual arts told on a bare stage. Props also to Alyssa Kane, set dresser, Lindsay Alayne Stevens, lighting designer, Omar Ramos, sound designer, Leigh Akin, illustrations designer and Ted Leib for the projections.

There is so much to appreciate in “Neat” that it is impossible to describe it well enough. Suffice it to say that Woodard has another winner in this show that runs 90 minutes without intermission.

Don’t miss it.