Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s “The Wolves” by Sarah DeLappe and directed by Rebecca Ramaly

The thumping bass of a Rihanna song, a promising melody line, and then—bam—there’s a digital beep, a brief silence,  and a new song starts. The dancey beat of Nicki Minaj’s “Alarm” or Capital Cities’ catchy “Safe and Sound” each play for the initial three to five seconds before both tracks are skipped in succession. Anyone who’s been around teens listening to music in the age of streaming is familiar with the practice of constant skipping songs. Heck, you’re possibly driven a little bonkers by it. It seems they hardly ever listen to a song in its entirety. In fact, Spotify’s data indicates that over 50% of songs are skipped by the 20 and younger set. But there’s something perfect about this as a metaphor for adolescence, as much as this fickle behavior infuriates the grown-ups.

 

Between scenes in Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s ebullient production of Pulitzer finalist play “The Wolves” by Sarah DeLappe, the sound design speaks volumes on the themes of the play. Usually interstitial music during scene changes is meant to keep the audience engaged in the world of the play but this sound design does much more to get at the heart of the play. After a riveting scene featuring the nine suburban teenage girls who have played indoor soccer with each other for over a decade, the lights go to hard black and the first seconds of a pop song begin at a deafening volume before it is skipped. It happens with the next song too, one after the other. Two theories for why teenagers “thumbs down” so many tracks are that they either have the free-time to curate their musical choices or that they lack the attention span, but I think it’s deeper than that.

Skipping tracks after a few seconds reflects the spark of newly minted agency, the impulsive drive to seek the next possibility, and the building anticipation for discovering that perfect life path. Not only does this process of refinement lead to a young woman discovering her future in the next song, it also teaches the Spotify algorithm to play more songs she’ll like and thus define her own taste, or at least her Spotify profile. Though it seems immature, brash, and impatient to older listeners, for a play about a soccer team of young women each searching for her identity and purpose, this halting and frenetic soundtrack is the perfect choice.

 

The action in “The Wolves” all takes place on the Astroturf of an indoor soccer arena in the suburban Midwest. Without being heavy-handed or obnoxiously self-indulgent, the play uses a character-driven narrative to confront young women’s issues. While these topics are typically responsible for some of the worst contemporary playwriting, the naturalistic dialogue by Sarah DeLappe from the mouths of nine talented actors make the characters human and their challenges subtle and complex. It is refreshing to see such well-rounded female characters who confront their problems but are not defined by them. This is not just a character-driven play; this play gives you photo-realistic portraits of each character in a few words or casual conversation about everything from genocide to tampons. There’s no forced exposition or unrealistic confessional monologues and yet you learn so much about each player in the eighty-eight minute play.

Several important events transpire off stage which we learn about through the codes and context cues in conversations the Wolves have as they drill, stretch, and prepare for their upcoming championship with increasing fervor. There is something tribal, almost warlike, about their intensity and community. The physicality of several players ebbs and flows with the dramatic tension until it reaches a boiling point. The goalie, number 00, is taciturn during warm-ups but explodes with nervous energy before she’s called upon to play.  The interplay of tenderness and vindictiveness, ardent friendships and cruel inside jokes resonated with both myself and the two other women I attended the play with. Unfiltered late girlhood, with all its emotional arcs and unmitigated hopes, is presented with a rawness I’ve never before seen on stage. Each of the Wolves is skipping tracks, seeking her song, and the Wolf Pack soccer team and its revealing chatter is the field where she plays.

This weekend is your last chance to see Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s production of “The Wolves”

Buy tickets here: https://betc.org/event/wolves/

You may not be able to get a ticket to this production, but I recommend trying to see this play when it’s next produced.