With a subject matter reminiscent of “The Vagina Monologues” housed in a structure that brings to mind “La Ronde,” “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” by Jen Silverman and sharply directed by Kudra Wagner has its own style and perspective on what it means to be a woman, especially a gay woman, in today’s society.
The play’s 5 characters are all named Betty but that’s where the similarities between them pretty much ends! Yet each Betty undergoes something of a metamorphosis as their eyes and hearts are opened by one or more of the other Betties.
First we meet, appropriately enough, Betty #1 (Tammy Taylor) who is an upper-class New Yorker who is stressed out over almost everything that’s happening in the world. She feels compelled to frequently watch the news to stay informed, which only serves to elevate her already high level of anxiety. She is having an evening get-together with Betty #2 (Angela Landis), a woman who comes across as disconnected and unaware of much of the world around her and her place in it. Also joining them for dinner is Betty #3 (Shelby Victoria), a social media influencer and wanna-be celebrity who works at Sephora. She has no qualms about discussing any subject that pops into her head and peppers that conversation with language most would consider inappropriate for the setting.
Angela Landis – Shelby Victoria – credit Nathan Cox 
Angela Landis- credit Nathan Cox 
Shelby Victoria – Ashton Loyo – credit Nathan Cox 
Shelby Victoria – Katrina Dixon – Tammy Taylor – Angela Landis – Ashton Loyo – credit Nathan Cox 
Shelby VIctoria – Katrina Dixon – Tammy Taylor – credit Nathan Cox 
Tammy Taylor – Ashton Loyo – credit Nathan Cox
Betty 2, in an attempt to make new friends invites Betty #3 and Betty #4 (Katrina Dixon), a good friend of Betty #3’s over for a small get-together. Where Betty 2 looks and acts like a suburban mom out of the 1960’S, at least initially, Betty #4 (Katrina Dixon) is almost stereotypically butch. She enjoys wearing masculine attire and working on her truck. Her friend, Betty #5 (Ashton Loyo), is somewhere in-between. In her own words she is “a gender-nonconforming masculine-presenting female-bodied individual, who is comfortable with female pronouns.” She also owns a gym and it is there that she meets Betty #1 and in short order are having an affair which opens Betty #`1’s eyes to the immense number of possibilities that life presents to us. Ultimately, though, it is Betty #2 who has the biggest growth and awakening emerging like a newly formed butterfly from her confining cocoon of a life.
The play is actually more like a series of scenes connected only by the thinnest of plot devices as we watch different permutations of the 5 Betties interact with each other. As such it is truly an ensemble piece buoyed by 5 equally strong performances which easily delineate one character from another yet manages to let us see the connections that each of them sees to one or more of the Betties.
Just a quick note that ”Collective Rage…” is not the play to take someone who is easily offended to see. Although there is no nudity, the dialogue is quite explicit and far from subtle in places.
“Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” is being presented by the Desert Ensemble Theatre at their home in the Palm Springs Cultural Center on Nov. 17, 18 and 19, 2023. For tickets or more information visit their website at www.DesertEnsembleTheatre.org.