Williamston Theatre’s first commission tackles post-apocalyptic morality

Williamston Theatre is known for its balance of weighty dramas and crowd-pleasing comedies. Its 18th season is no different, opening with a world-premiere play about social structure in the wake of an environmental disaster. Survive “Thirst,” and you’ll get to enjoy “A Very Williamston Christmas” later this year.

The theater commissioned playwright Terry Guest to create a story about water rights, human rights and corporate greed. The result is an amalgamation of a Hitchcock plotline set against the backdrop of the 2013 film “Elysium,” with hints of the 2017 thriller “Get Out” thrown in for extra ickiness.

The story takes place 20 years in the future, some time after a toxic spill poisoned the Great Lakes. The disaster has furthered the wealth gap, forcing the working poor to live in subsidized housing and take pills to stay hydrated. As in “Elysium,” the workers put their health on the line daily, in this case cleaning up the toxic waste in the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite, like Frank and Florence Doyle (John Lepard and Janet Haley), drink filtered water and play marriage war games, using select proles as their weapons.

This is the scenario that prostitute Jazz (Zahirah Muhammad) stumbles into when Frank hires her for more than a few minutes of gratification. Jazz is hustling to support her ill mother, and Frank uses this sense of responsibility to chip away at her morals, pulling her into his plot to kill off Florence for her money. Jazz soon forges a bond with Frank’s chauffeur, Spencer (Jayla Fletcher), and the two women try to outmaneuver the amoral and self-absorbed couple. To say more would spoil the plot twists.

Although the basic plotline isn’t incredibly original, setting the show in a dying society gives the story an interesting level of gravitas. It’s easy for audiences to imagine what choices they would make under similar circumstances because variations of this imagined world exist here and now. What “Thirst” shows is the moral cost of shifting from surviving to thriving in a world of great disparity.

Lepard has played an array of cads, scoundrels and boors, and his portrayal of Frank as a trophy husband is spot-on. Frank tells Spencer that he’s not a bad guy; he’s just a guy who does bad things. In Jazz’s company, he makes himself out to be a victim of Florence’s ambition. Is he deceiving himself, his audience or both?

Haley is outstanding as Florence, effortlessly shifting from a powerhouse corporate professional to a spoiled, needy diva that only her staff and husband see at home. Haley’s Florence is physically poised and emotionally brittle, and Haley herself bares more than her soul in a key scene that juxtaposes her power and vulnerability.

It’s always easy to marvel at Williamston Theatre’s production values, and just when you think it’s exhausted the capabilities of its space, it pulls off a real onstage bathing scene. Kudos to scenic designer Jennifer Maiseloff for creating a beautiful and functional living space.

Muhammad’s portrayal of Jazz is nuanced and sometimes ambiguous, leaving room to question where her alliances lie as the story unfolds. Does she develop feelings for Florence, or is she simply drawn in by the comfort and luxury of the Doyles’ lifestyle? One final revelation guides her choice, but it may not be the choice most people would make.