GANESHA GRANTS GRACE
IN A GLORIOUSLY GRITTY JOURNEY
The Hindu religion has multiple gods. Ganesha, also called Ganesh, is revered as the god of wisdom, luck, and beginnings. His beloved spirit is present in everything, and he is generally depicted as joyful, seeing the best in people and the world around him. He is easily recognized in art (and souvenir shops worldwide) by his elephant head and four arms. Playwright Terrence McNally saw Ganesha’s renowned insight and ever-present nature as a way to use him both as a commentator and as a soul inhabiting the extra characters needed in this touching narrative.
I choose the word narrative over story because, while the play does linearly follow two women on a trip across India, A Perfect Ganesh doesn’t adhere to a traditional story arc. It feels more like a quilt of moments sewn together, almost coincidentally, by chronology. The effect is lovely, even if the plot feels more like a collection of vignettes than a structured beginning-to-end journey.
At Lamplighters Theatre, the delightfully named Margaret Civil (so fitting, as Lana Hartwell plays the character civilly at best) is out of patience before the plane to India has even boarded. She is a terrible candidate for the country’s infamous challenges for travelers. Her unlikely companion is fellow white, upper-class Connecticut acquaintance Kitty Brynne (Michelle Burkhart), who seems far more free-spirited than Margaret. Think Netflix’s Grace and Frankie—if they ran off to India before ever becoming friends. Beyond being an odd couple who frequently irritate each other, each woman carries her own demons—some publicly known, some intensely private. Each sees this trip to deeply spiritual India as a possible path to coming to terms with her struggles.
Ganesha (Parth Kichloo, a good sport for donning that elephant mask for two full hours) takes the form of half the people the women meet on their journey—some who challenge their personal barriers, others who gently help dismantle a few layers of bricks. Raymond Evans plays everyone else, from airport staff to flight attendants, hotel managers to guides—many of whom seem determined to push Margaret’s every button.
Since this play hit Broadway in 1993—two years before the HIV “cocktail” began saving lives worldwide—we are transported back to a time when AIDS was still a likely death sentence. McNally, who lost two partners to AIDS, felt strongly about including gay characters in his plays, often addressing homophobia and the AIDS crisis. A Perfect Ganesh is no exception.
Hartwell and Burkhart do a lovely job portraying these troubled souls—women we don’t always like, but for whom we feel deeply. Each, in her own way, is striving to be better and to heal. Through them, McNally explores themes of love, faith, acceptance, and forgiveness, set against the chaos of India as well as the turmoil of their own American lives. Jenn Peters’ direction maintains a strong balance between big energy and moments of peace, despite a first act in which the two women bicker far longer than necessary to establish their dynamic. Kichloo brings warmth to narrator Ganesha, as well as to some of the strangers the women meet, particularly in a standout scene between Margaret and an older Asian woman (Ganesha in disguise), where Margaret’s tough exterior begins to crack just a little. Evans adds well-timed humor, injecting bursts of energy when the pacing might otherwise slow.
McNally’s material moves fluidly between realistic scenes (airport struggles) and symbolic moments (dancing with the ghosts of lost loved ones), while, at times, edging into sentimentality. But more often than not, the effect is sweet, respectful, and keeps us rooting for the protagonists to find what they need in this exotic land.
photos courtesy of Lamplighters
A Perfect Ganesh
Lamplighters Community Theatre, 5915 Severin Drive
Fri and Sat at 7:30; Sun at 2
ends on March 23, 2025
for tickets, call 619.303.5092 or visit Lamplighters
