It might take a bit of time for those who know nothing about basketball to get up to speed: The jargon flies fast and furious right from the beginning of Candrice Jones’ dense, tense drama “Flex” now in an impressive West Coast premiere at San Francisco Playhouse.
The title refers to a “basketball system,” which, like the play’s many references unfamiliar to those of us who aren’t sporty, we don’t really need to know.
Set in 1997, soon after the Women’s National Basketball Association was established, “Flex” dives deep into not only the dynamics among the five high school girls who comprise the basketball team Lady Train, but also reveals, little by little, each one’s inner struggles.
By the end, we care about all five and identify with at least a few.
As the team strives to make the state finals, it feels like a life-or-death goal for some of the players. The central character Starra, portrayed by a riveting Santeon Brown, is obsessively ambitious. Her nemesis is Sidney (Paige Mayes, both steely and comically snarky), a relative newcomer to the team, having moved from Oakland to this remote rural area in Arkansas. She and Starra are destined to be enemies.
Emma Gardner’s intense, focused Cherise is a devout Christian whose religious convictions create conflict. Troubled teammate April (Camille Collaço) broke a team sacred vow to abstain from sex during the season and got pregnant, causing major problems for the group.
Two of the girls are a couple.
A firm but deeply caring coach (a beautifully modulated performance by Halili Knox) oversees these quarrelsome, competitive, ultimately empathetic girls.
The play is almost 2 1/2 hours with intermission, but it requires all that time for the audience to get to know these multifaceted characters, each individually, and together, facing endless obstacles.
Some scenes are silly—such as a long discussion about condoms—but after all, these are teenagers. Playwright Jones knows just how to juxtapose comedy and drama, and every scene presents a new and relevant understanding of the girls’ inner demons and outward challenges.
Other scenes feel a bit overly theatrical, such as Starra’s monologues, as she gazes up at the ceiling to her dead Mama. Still, Brown delivers that old dramatic trope with authentic feeling.
By the end of Act 1, once you’ve figured out who everyone is and what’s at stake for the girls, the playwright’s insight and compassion seep into your bones.
As always at SF Playhouse, the details work beautifully. Under Margo Hall’s tight, precise direction, the action never falters, and there’s never a false moment. These actors are convincing as basketball players, landing baskets as needed. The playing practice, some of it mimed, on Bill English’s clean spare gym court set, is elegantly choreographed.
And though an actual car that cruises in at various times is probably not needed, it works well on the small stage.
“No one is bigger than this team!” says one of the girls, and it’s a hard lesson for these young athletes to learn. Watching them learn it is enormously satisfying.
“Flex” continues through May 2 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., San Francisco. Tickets are $52-$125 at sfplayhouse.org.