Property-line dispute sparks neighbors’ border war in BTE’s first-rate ‘Native Gardens’

“Native Gardens” — 3.5 stars

Over the course of a brisk 90 minutes, Karen Zacarías’ provocative “Native Gardens” — in a canny revival at Buffalo Theatre Ensemble — addresses just about every “ism” imaginable: racism, classism, sexism, ageism, colonialism, provincialism.

Add to the mix identity, privilege and entitlement and this comedy about a property-line dispute has the makings of a timely social satire. Funny and evenhanded, the play takes a detour into farce during its final scene. But the epilogue that followed rang false. I understand the reason for the kumbaya coda, but it felt like a cop-out.

Fortunately, it’s one that BTE’s production overcomes. Directed by Steve Scott with signature care and sensitivity, the play is powered by a first-rate cast led by always-watchable BTE artists Bryan Burke and Kelli Walker and newcomers Richard Gomez and Sofia Tew.

Burke and Walker play Frank and Virginia Butley, a 60-something couple and longtime residents of Washington, D.C.’s tony Georgetown neighborhood. Virginia works for a defense contractor. Federal employee Frank is an avid gardener preparing for an upcoming competition and hoping to win the top prize that has so far eluded him.

Gomez and Tew play 30-something newcomers Pablo and Tania Del Valle, who move into the fixer-upper next door. Pablo is an ambitious attorney from Chile, eager to make partner at his white-shoe law firm. His eight-months pregnant wife, Tania, is a doctoral candidate who shares Frank’s love of gardening.

But unlike Frank, who favors a formal, well-manicured flower garden, Tania embraces native plants and biodiversity.

In conversations punctuated by casual discourtesies and microaggressions, the couples discover their differences extend beyond garden design. But on one subject they agree: their dislike for the eyesore chain-link fence separating their yards, which Pablo proposes replacing before an upcoming barbecue with his colleagues.

The discovery that the Del Valle’s property line extends two feet into the Butleys’ yard sours the cordial relations between the couples. A border war ensues.

Initially, the incursions are minor — dead leaves dumped in a flower bed, beer poured onto plants, a cigarette flicked onto a patio. But the verbal exchanges grow heated, escalating to name-calling and threats.

The script describes the characters as smart and likable, but each possesses wince-inducing flaws that place them somewhere between irksome and agreeable. (Burke and Walker deftly walk that tightrope. So do Gomez and Tew, who hold their own opposite the veterans). Zacarías doesn’t demonize them, instead she treats both couples fairly, providing explanations for their behavior but not excusing it.

The generational, cultural and economic tension is persistent, and Scott manages it well.

The conflict is also reflected in Mara Ishihara Zinky’s fine set, which juxtaposes the Butleys’ redbrick home, well-manicured lawn, color-coordinated flower beds and wrought-iron dining set with the Del Valles’ home with its flaking paint, leaf-strewn patio, bedraggled plants and plastic lawn chairs.

Kudos to supporting players Michael Guzman, Alfonso Padilla, Stephanie Ortiz and Daniela Luna, who manage the Del Valle’s ever-evolving yard.

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Location: Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, (630) 942-4000, btechicago.com, atthemac.org

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through March 2

Tickets: $44

Running time: About 90 minutes, no intermission

Rating: For teens and older, some adult themes