photo by: Shawn Valverde

The cast of “Native Gardens” rehearses at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15. 2025.

The saying goes that “good fences make good neighbors.” And in Theatre Lawrence’s 2025 season opener, which premieres Friday night, tearing down a fence makes a good story.

“Native Gardens,” a play written by Karen Zacarías that was first performed in 2016, starts off with what looks like a typical — and comedic — neighborly dispute. But it “plants the seed” for the audience to explore much weightier topics, like race, class and how people from different backgrounds can learn to live together, according to Theatre Lawrence Executive Director Jamie Ulmer.

The show starts out with a young, professional Latino couple — Pablo Del Valle and his pregnant wife Tanya, played here by Mario Bonilla and Celine Mendoza, respectively — moving into their first house in a Washington, D.C., suburb. They meet their neighbors, Frank and Virginia Butley — played by Jim Tuchscherer and Jill Jess — who have lived in the neighborhood for years. Tanya and Frank soon realize they have a shared passion for gardening, but different ideas about it. Frank likes his lawn nice and tidy, perfectly manicured. Tanya is hoping to fill her yard with native grasses and plants.

That initial shared interest turns sour when the neighbors decide to replace a chain-link fence and a disagreement over the fenceline turns into “an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement,” as Theatre Lawrence’s website puts it.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

A chain-link fence on the set of “Native Gardens” at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

Don’t let the fighting fool you into thinking the play is a drama, though. Ulmer said the play “invites (the audience) in with humor” that makes it read like a sitcom.

“The comedy provides that opening and accessibility to have more broader and deeper thoughts … and think about things from different perspectives,” Ulmer said.

Everyone has dealt with a petty frustration with a neighbor before — whether it’s blasting music too loud in a shared apartment or a complaint over an HOA violation — but Ulmer believes the differences between the couples function as a way to let the audience “see themselves” in both of them.

One couple is just starting off, navigating new careers and home ownership. The other is well-established and is used to doing things their own way. For Ulmer, these differences invite the audience to think about how these kinds of conflicts shape their own lives, and how to coexist in spite of them.

“All those factors can come into play,” Ulmer said. “The show does a nice job of playing off those themes.”

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Marion Bonilla and Celine Mendoza rehearse a scene from “Native Gardens” at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

“Native Gardens” will be performed at Theatre Lawrence over the next two weekends — Friday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, Jan. 19; and Thursday, Jan. 23, through Sunday, Jan. 26. The Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m., while the other shows start at 7:30 p.m.

Additionally, before the shows on Jan. 19 and Jan. 23, there will be a free pre-show presentation by Douglas County Extension on native plants. That will happen 30 minutes prior to curtain in the conference room.

You can buy tickets at theatrelawrence.com, by calling 785-843-7469 or in person at the box office, 4660 Bauer Farm Drive, on weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Celine Mendoza as Tania Del Valle at a rehearsal of “Native Gardens” at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Mario Bonilla as Pablo Del Valle during a rehearsal of “Native Gardens” at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Jill Jess plays Virginia Butley during a rehearsal of “Native Gardens” at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

photo by: Shawn Valverde

Jim Tuchscherer plays Frank Butley during a rehearsal of “Native Gardens” at Theatre Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.