Wasting no time coming back from winter break, Bare Naked Theatre, through the Hamilton College Theatre Department, is returning this week with

How I Learned to Drive

, written by American playwright Paula Vogel. The play takes place in the American South and follows the story of protagonist Li’l Bit, played by Jojo Rinehart-Jones ’20, who faces years of sexual abuse from her uncle Peck, played by Jake Bolster ’19. Associate Professor of Theatre Jeanne Willcoxon will be directing the cast.

How I Learned to Drive

first pre- miered off-Broadway in 1997, since receiving has received many noteworthy awards, including the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics Award for best play, the Drama Desk Award for outstanding play and performances, the Obie Award for excellent direction, playwriting, and performances, among others.

Unlike most stories, the play follows Li’l Bit’s life in a non-chronological order, depicting her maturity from age 11 to 18.

The play starts with a narration from her as an adult, and consequently includes scenes from other moments of her life such as struggling with alcohol- ism in college or bullying in middle school, leading up to the final moments where the play reveals how the sexual abuse all started.

The play also includes a set of three Greek choruses, including the Male Greek Chorus played by Adrian Summers ’19, the Female Greek Chorus played by Bridget Lavin ’18, and the Teenage Greek Chorus played by Maria Lazgin Ciercielli ’18. Each chorus member takes on the identities of other characters in Li’l Bit’s life. Their contrasting opinions, when it comes to topics such as sexual abuse or victimization, also force audience members to question their own understanding of the story and the topics at hand.

In covering such heavy scenes and themes, Rinehart-Jones ’20, who plays Li’l Bit, spoke on what she hopes to bring to the character especially as it may be unique compared to other actresses’ portrayals.

“I think other portrayals of Li’l Bit have kind of stripped away some of the nuance of the show — because yes, it’s dark, and it’s hard, and about terrible events, and Li’l Bit is obviously very scarred by what she goes through, but it’s also funny” (which drew a huge backlash towards Paula Vogel when she originally wrote it), explained Rinehart-Jones. “I think removing the black comedy that Li’l Bit uses to sustain herself and survive this abuse is removing a huge part of the character and part of the point of the show, which is that life is messy, and it can be easy to cover up secrets with humor and use that to survive, [but] rather than diminishing the meaning this aspect makes it resonate more when the play does reach those very dark points.”

Rinehart-Jones also commented: “When I found out [the play] was being produced at Hamilton, I was excited to audition not just because I think it’s a great play but because it’s a really interesting play to be putting on now, at the dawn of this new feminist age, and on a college campus especially.”

Through a story that openly dis- cusses serious issues such as sexual abuse, alcoholism, incest, and more, Vogel blends in elements of a dark comedy to create an engaging and eye- opening piece. Willcoxon’s direction expertly blends these themes and further highlights important aspects of the play. Especially with the talent of the actors and actresses who all understand the importance of the play’s topic, bring- ing their own style to their characters,

How I Learned to Drive

is not a show anyone would want to miss.

Audience members can watch

How I Learned to Drive

from Jan. 17 – 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Barrett Theater. Free admission.