Have you ever had the urge to be in a play but never quite found the opportunity? Well, get a ticket and assume your small but important role in the latest production from Portland Stage. The stakes are high and the choice you are asked to make will matter, perhaps not only theatrically.

“Where We Stand,” by Donnetta Lavinia Grays, is the last in a series of small cast shows that have populated this unusual Portland Stage season. It asks the audience to complete its story by determining the fate of the main character.

Somewhere between a fable and an allegory, the 80-minute show, directed by Kevin R. Free, relies on the actor’s ability to gain sympathy for her character’s outsider status and some respect for his feisty spirit, however misguided it may have become.

Tracey Conyer Lee takes the lead as the Man, a person who lives on the outskirts of Portland and is largely ignored by the townspeople who pass him by. He relates his story directly to the audience, occasionally imitating the words and actions of those with whom he has come in contact.

It seems the Man was visited by the mysterious Stranger who promised a new way of life, if only he can convince the townsfolk to relinquish their old ways and follow him. It’s a tempting plan that begins to work, until the circumstances get a little sticky and the Stranger loses patience.

The play concocts a complex brew of fear, alienation and manipulation for the story of someone pushed to the edge of his community in more ways than one. Through vernacular versifying and soulful singing, Lee excels at bringing this imaginative play home while still leaving big questions for the audience to decide before they vote at the close.

Should an understanding of how people can be driven to extremes lead us to forgiveness? How important is personal responsibility to community cohesiveness? Are we also judging ourselves when we judge others?  There are many angles to consider in this thought-provoking play.

The minimal set design by Anita Stewart and lighting design by Jamie Grant bring an atmosphere to the story that is both deep-rooted and magical. Colorful light sculptures by Pandora LaCasse, familiar to those who visit the nighttime streets of Portland, adorn the stage and the ceiling above the audience, coming on and off at appropriate intervals.

A certain immediacy to the experience of the play was sacrificed to the requirements of social distancing and mask wearing in place on opening night (pre-pandemic productions elsewhere had the Man coming into the aisles of the theater and addressing people up close, one on one). But, with enchanting lyricism and a bit of visual dazzle, this production renews an appreciation for theater that can be both entertaining and ask tough questions.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

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