By Patti Roberts

For a cynical teenager, Caroline’s bedroom is surprisingly full of colorful walls, bedspreads and even her PJs. We meet Caroline as she bounces around, singing and dancing to tunes blasting through her cramped quarters.  

And then there is a knock on her bedroom door, and a stranger enters, announcing that he’s Anthony and he’s there to help Caroline with a class assignment based on Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.” 

This is our introduction to two teenagers navigating their lives and exploring their differences and similarities in Capital Stage’s “I and You” by Lauren Gunderson. 

These two characters initially have polar-opposite personalities that don’t quite meld together. Caroline (McKenna Sennett) is angry, sarcastic and defensive due to her bedroom confinement because of a serious health condition and Anthony (Braeden Harris) is a popular high school basketball player anxiously trying to engage Caroline in their class project partnership. 

Through sometimes combative conversations at first, the two begin to reveal more of themselves to each other. And to the audience. It’s like watching a tennis match unfold as they lob parts of their lives, likes and loves across to each other.  

The story is told through the pair’s subtle dialogues, humor, angst and Whitman’s writings. Quotes from Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” begin to connect the plot lines and are recited as Biblical references and passages.  

The play takes place in Caroline’s bedroom, and at times, you keep waiting for the plot to unfold. The pace lags in the middle but picks up with small twists along the way and the climactic conclusion is intensely shocking and stunning — a truly epic ending. 

In a two-character, one-act drama confined to a never-changing set, it’s essential that the two actors convey a connection with each other. Under the careful direction of Director Imani Mitchell, the bond between the actors is quite apparent. Both Sennett and Harris really capture teen attitudes through their dialogue, expressions and gestures, which allows you to witness their growth along the way. 

The play runs 90 minutes with no intermission. There is an American Sign Language interpretation during the Dec. 20 performance. 

“I and You” plays at Capital Stage through Dec. 28; Wednesdays to Fridays, 7 p.m., Saturdays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays 2 p.m. 2215 J St.

This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics, the city had no editorial influence over this story. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.