By Lynn Venhaus

With its complex characters, fractured family dynamic and multi-layered storyline, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ explosive drama “Appropriate” has much to unpack.

At their peak, a powerhouse local cast takes us on an unsettling, unforgettable journey, for their characters aren’t prepared for all the emotional baggage that will spill out. Well-cast and well-rehearsed, this production showcases intense immediate realism.

Dark secrets will be revealed, forever shaking the family. Think of it like a bandage being ripped off an open wound – repeatedly. The atmosphere is combustible – a marvel of sight, sound, imagery and tension under Benny Sato Ambush’s direction.

The cicadas are loudly buzzing on a hot, muggy summer night in rural southeast Arkansas when three Lafayette siblings converge to settle their late father’s estate. The clutter in the decaying plantation home is as profound as the anxiety as they prepare for an estate sale.

This is not a warm family reunion – interactions are awkward, bitter and contentious. This play, first performed in 2013 and then off-Broadway a year later, was revived in 2023 to much acclaim. Its power is intact, reminding us of systemic racism and unconscious bias when it’s hard to confront as legacy.

Wayward son Francois “Frank” (Joel Moses), who now calls himself “Franz,” is seeking redemption after years of addiction and bad behavior. He drove there from Portland with his eccentric young fiancé, River (Maggie Newstead-Adams).

Stressed-out eldest sister Antoinette “Toni” (Jilanne Marie Barnes) considers him toxic and won’t extend an olive branch. Brother Beauregard “Bo” (Michael James Reed), an attorney like their father, is expecting to take charge like he always does, but Toni is the executor. They all bicker incessantly.

Bo’s wife, Rachael (Lizi Watt), and their two precocious children, Cassidy (Ainsley Hammond) and Ainsley (Aviv Giancola-Poremba), came from New York City, thinking of this as an educational trip. Toni’s troubled son Rhys (Braden Phillips) is present. These are flawed relatives with enough intergenerational trauma for an eight-episode limited series.

“Appropriate,” with all the intentional meanings of that word, will delve into race, identity, and historical legacy. As the patriarch’s despicable past is discovered, the evidence can’t be ignored or denied. How family members deal with a photo album of graphic lynchings and other disgusting emblems of a vicious white supremist adds to the uncomfortable territory.

The playwright, who has won two Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an Obie Award, has a natural command of how people interact and converse. His dense dialogue combines caustic wit with raw pain and sharp contemporary insight – and yes, phrases will shock.

Joel Moses’ Franz is this deeply vulnerable bundle of insecurities, trying to show the better person he has become, but his siblings can’t let go of their hurtful memories about his decadent past and their resentful feelings. Unlocking a pitiable black sheep as only he can, Frank is another masterful performance by one of St. Louis’ finest actors.

Joining him in top-tier reliability is Michael James Reed, who is, without fail, always at the top of his game. He provides interesting layers to the complicated Bo, Ivy League-educated and successful.

At first, it feels like Bo checked out of caring about his family a long time ago. His main concern is the corporate ladder, and he appears to be the family “fixer.” Money-centered, he’d monetize the dad’s hateful artifacts in a heartbeat. But he’d love to distance himself from this tarnished past; he just wants to recoup all the funds he spent caring for dear old dad and get back to Manhattan.

Jilanne Barnes’ Toni is tired. Exhausted by life, her short straw, and trying to fix broken things that can’t be repaired, she is unpleasant for 95% of her stage time. That is heavy for an actress, and Barnes’ meets the challenge. Toni sacrificed and deeply cared for her father. She refuses to sully his memory.

Shrill and spiteful, she has alienated most everyone there, especially Bo’s Jewish wife Rachael. First impressions on the sister-in-law are that she’s a typical affluent status-conscious mother, trying to control the outside world’s influence on her children.

Lizi Watt displays Rachael’s buttons that Toni keeps pushing, with antisemitic name-calling, and it gets ugly — “August: Osage County” nasty. Fight choreographer Shaun Sheley’s work is noteworthy.

Most surprising is Maggie Newstead-Adams’ nuanced portrait of River. She presents herself as New Age and is derided for her ‘hippy-dippy’ qualities. Assuming she’s a stereotype, she proves herself to be wise beyond her 23 years and compassionate. Newstead-Adams’ poise among all the other acclaimed talent is impressive.

Spiritually, she is most attuned to the ghosts haunting this old plantation. Mary Robinson’s impeccable sound design announces the spirits’ eerie presence, as the family talks about the two graveyards on the property – one white, one with black slaves (without headstones).

When the third generation finds disturbing relics of their bigoted grandfather, the sins of the past erupt. As the program points out: “Walls remember what a family chooses to forget.”

By society’s standards, Daddy — Ray Lafayette — was a highly successful, highly educated man. He lived in Washington D.C. for a time, during a lauded legal career, and chose to return to the ancestral homestead, with thoughts of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast.

Toni and Frank both refer to his mental deterioration, but the moral decay is something the family is loathe to address. But they start to peel back time, remembering behaviors. An all-white cast, dealing with the reality of historical racism, examines how the past haunts the present, and the bigger picture that it represents.

The outstanding artisans connected with this complicated production have crafted a stunning, crumbling Southern Gothic setting. The ambience is immediate, and so are the bad vibes. Matthew McCarthy’s richly appointed set design, complimented by Mikhail Lynn’s meticulous prop design, plunges us into this dilapidated structure, with the family’s despair emanating from every junk-filled corner.

McCarthy also designed effective lighting, and Ethan Dudenhoeffer was a wizard as technical director. Abby Pastorello’s costume design captured every character’s personality with terrific verve.

To reduce commentary about “Appropriate” can point out the obvious — a dysfunctional family in deep denial, which could stamp Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” and other landmark plays in the same way. That is why it’s not hard to see this connection that the Tennessee Williams St. Louis Festival chose to pivot with — “The Tennessee Effect” as this 11^th year’s theme. It’s, well, appropriate.

The takeaways are plentiful. We can only try to do better when we know better. If we aren’t willing to have discussions, where does society go?

In “Appropriate,” there is no tidy ending, no way to wrap up with a soothing bromide or suppress this legacy. The two-act dark drama is raw, unflinching, and damning of white fragility.

Some inheritance. They should be hot and bothered. And so should we.

The Tennessee Williams Festival presents the St. Louis premiere of “Appropriate” Sept. 17-27. Performances take place at the Berges Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: twstl.org