Aubrey Snowden's Naturalistic Direction
and the Commitment of All 10 Actors
Makes The Wolves Much More Real

PlayMakers Rep will stage The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe on Oct. 8-26 in UNC-Chapel Hill's Paul Green Theatre (photo by HuthPhoto)

Get ready to meet a pack of wolves. These are the nine young women who comprise a high school soccer team named "The Wolves." In PlayMakers Repertory Company's production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, directed by Aubrey Snowden, you will meet them in their natural habitat, on their own turf -- the artificial turf of an indoor soccer facility.

You will spend 90 minutes as a fly-on-the-wall during their warm-ups for a series of Saturday morning games. You will hear them talking about a variety of subjects including genocide, immigration, world politics, their families, their bodies, their drunken/hung-over coach, and feminine hygiene products. You'll also hear about their aspirations of playing soccer in college and, of course, some idle gossip -- all well-laced with some very salty language.

PlayMakers Repertory Company's Oct. 8-26 production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe stars Dana Marks (right)
as Soccer Mom and Mengwe Wapimewah (left) as #00 and Elizabeth Dye as #7 (photo by HuthPhoto)

This team is a little "clique-ish," and it takes a while for a new girl (#46) to become part of "the pack." Be prepared to witness some jealousies and some confrontations. Be prepared to hear about problems. And be prepared to see how they deal with a tragic loss.

Did one of the girls have an abortion? Or was it a "Plan B®"? Will an injury prevent one of them from ever playing again? Why does the goalie (#00) race out of the room just before each game?

Elizabeth Dye (center) stars as #7 in PlayMakers Rep's Oct. 8-26 production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe (photo by HuthPhoto)

Why do #7 and #14 get upset with each other?

And what is the significance of the orange slices that #14's mother sends to them?

PlayMakers Rep will stage The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe on Oct. 8-26 in UNC-Chapel Hill's Paul Green Theatre (photo by HuthPhoto)

The Acting:

We have been accustomed to being treated to top-notch acting at PRC, and this show is no exception. The amazing thing is that six of the nine actors playing members of The Wolves are making their PlayMakers debut.

They perform as a tight ensemble. The characters' various personalities mesh well. And the level of their soccer skills suggests that they have been coached, conditioned, and drilled extensively in every pertinent "how-to."

Mengwe Wapimewah (#00), Swetha Anand (#2), Elizabeth Dye (#7), Jadah Johnson (#8), Delaney Jackson (#11), Katie Stevens (#13), Caroline Marques (#14), Lily Kays (#25), and Celeste Pelletier (#46) each contribute their character's own unique flavor to the whole. And Dana Marks presents a very sympathetic "Soccer Mom" in the final scene.

Celeste Pelletier (center) stars as #46 in PlayMakers Rep's Oct. 8-26 production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe (photo by HuthPhoto)

The Tech:

Scenic designer Yi-Hsuan (Ant) Ma has captured the look of an indoor soccer field (complete with benches) and has created the illusion that we (the audience) are right there on the sidelines.

Lighting designer Abigail Hoke-Brady, in addition to capturing the changes in moods and the passage of time, has created several spot-lit freeze-frame and slow-mo shots representing on-the-field action.

Costume designer Pamela A. Bond has got the uniforms just right. An interesting observation: while everyone else wears their socks in the standard fashion, #46 (the new girl) wears hers over-the-knee.

Kudos also to sound designer Daniel Baker and to stage manager Aspen Blake Jackson.

PlayMakers Rep will stage The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe on Oct. 8-26 in UNC-Chapel Hill's Paul Green Theatre (photo by HuthPhoto)

Nice Touches:

• The choreographed entrances in the opening scene.
• The Gatorade machine and port-a-john against the upstage wall.
• #46 working her way into the warm-up routines through imitation.
• The "showdown-type" blocking of the confrontation between #7 and #14.
• The unbridled physicality of #00's breakdown and then her subsequent recovery.

Memorable Lines:

• "Why would you watch a documentary?"
• "It's not a bad thing to be Mexican."
• "You can't really live in a yogurt."
• "I have a pretty high pain tolerance."
• "You're -- uh -- you're talking!"

PlayMakers Rep will stage The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe on Oct. 8-26 in UNC-Chapel Hill's Paul Green Theatre (photo by HuthPhoto)

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

We are pleased to report that there are no nits to pick.

The Bottom Line:

Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves offers an excellent bird's eye view of young people working together to create a team that is "greater than the sum of its parts."

At the same time, it's a series of sketches of them dealing with problems faced by young people in this modern world.. As they deal, I am reminded of a verse from The Book of Jeremiah: "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?" (12:5)

Director Aubrey Snowden's naturalistic direction and the commitment of all 10 of the actors makes everything that much more real. All the Cool People recommend it.

Sarah DeLappe's THE WOLVES (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15-19 and 22-26), directed by Aubrey Snowden and starring (in alphabetical order) Swetha Anand as #2, Elizabeth Dye as #7, Delaney Jackson as #11, Jadah Johnson as #8, Lily Kays as #25, Dana Marks as Soccer Mom, Caroline Marques as #14, Celeste Pelletier as #46, Katie Stevens as #13, and Mengwe Wapimewah as #00 (PlayMakersRepertoryCompany in the Paul Green Theatre in UNC-Chapel Hill's Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art). TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Wb7Re4vow. PLAYBILL (Desktop Version): https://online.fliphtml5.com/gtelh/qfqn/. PLAYBILL (Mobile Version): https://playmakersrep.org/playbill-for-the-wolves/. PRESENTER: https://playmakersrep.org/, https://www.facebook.com/playmakersrep, https://www.instagram.com/playmakersrep/, https://www.tiktok.com/@playmakersrep, https://x.com/playmakersrep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayMakers_Repertory_Company, and https://www.youtube.com/@PlayMakersRepertory. 2025-26 SEASON: https://playmakersrep.org/season/2025-2026/. PRC BLOG: https://playmakersrep.org/about-us/our-blog/. VENUE: https://playmakersrep.org/about-us/paul-green-theatre and https://unchistory.web.unc.edu/building-narratives/paul-green-theatre/. DIRECTIONS/PARKING: https://playmakersrep.org/visitor-info/directions-and-parking/. THE WOLVES (2016 Off-Broadway dark comedy/political drama and finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Drama): https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/62099/the-wolves, https://newplayexchange.org/script/1992639/the-wolves, https://stageagent.com/shows/play/11330/the-wolves, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolves_(play). THE SCRIPT: https://books.google.com. STUDY GUIDE (Lincoln Center Theater): https://media.lct.org/filer_public/5a/ea/5aea35bb-2492-4865-b701-b007ff34cb78/thewolvesstudyguide.pdf. SARAH DeLAPPE (Reno, NV-born playwright and screenwriter): https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/117788/sarah-delappe, https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/all-playwrights/sarah-delappe, https://newplayexchange.org/users/2893/sarah-delappe, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11972817/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_DeLappe. CONTENT ADVISORY: PlayMakers Rep cautions, "The Wolves contains strong language and mature themes." For details, click here and scroll down to the CONTENT TRANSPARENCY section. RUN TIME: "Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. No intermission," according to PlayMakers Rep. RELATED EVENTS: For details, click here and scroll down to the Special Performances section. NOTE: Arts Access, Inc. of Raleigh will audio-describe and sign-language interpret the show's 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22nd, performance. TICKETS: $20 and up, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-962-7529 or prcboxoffice@unc.edu. PLEASE DONATE TO: PlayMakers Repertory Company. Melissa Rooney's Triangle Review Review Permalink.

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