Karen Zacarías’ backyard comedy “Native Gardens” was a success when first produced in 2019, but unlike a lot of regional theater successes which have a two or three year window of national popularity, this one seems even more popular years later.
In Connecticut, two major regional theaters have produced it within 14 months of each other: Westport Country Playhouse in the winter of 2025 and now Hartford Stage, whose new production runs April 17 through May 10.
The play has special resonance in an increasingly antagonistic world. “Native Gardens” concerns two married couples: Frank and Virginia Butley, who are of retirement age and have lived for many years in a quaint Washington D.C. neighborhood where they have nurtured an impressive garden, and Pablo and Tania del Valle, a newlywed couple expecting their first child, who have bought the house next door to the Butleys and have a lot of ideas about how to fix it up, including having a garden themselves.
“Native Gardens” is a comedy about shared interests, incompatibilities and boundaries. It is also a glimpse into different phases of life, seen side by side. The Butleys’ careers are winding down, with all the emotions that entails, while the del Valles are full of ambition and anxiety as Pablo begins to climb the corporate life, Tania works on her doctorate and both prepare to be parents.
At first, the couples are charmed by each other. But soon there is some friction, which is exacerbated when a dispute over the border line between their properties — one which directly affects their gardening schemes — has both couples screaming about legal issues and getting fierce and territorial.
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Did Zacarías foresee the power her play would have as a political metaphor for alliance, conflict, conquest, retaliation, diplomacy and other aspects of global? The answer seems like an obvious “yes” but it’s still a question that needs to be asked since Zacarías lives in Washington, D.C. and, like the character Tania, she is married to a lawyer. Does she have a garden? “I have a small patio garden,” the playwright said. “Nothing like Frank and Virginia’s.”
“Native Gardens,” she said, is not based on her own experiences. It’s based on her observations of others, and yes, on the world situation, but more generally than might be expected.
The playwright said she fully intended “Native Gardens” to be a metaphor for “international relations, how conflict arises” but that “I wrote it in 2015, before Trump came to power.” The Washington D.C. location of the gardens, the backgrounds of the characters, their particular struggles and life changes are all part of a bigger picture. “I was aware of something meta. D.C. seemed perfect.”
The genesis of the show helped shape it. “I had been at a party and there were all these stories about neighbors,” Zacarías said. “They were small things with big things behind them, and it got me thinking. Then I was commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse to write a comedy. The first version did not have a happy ending. I had to be reminded that it was a comedy. I love writing comedy because it’s about rhythm and pace.”
The play ends hopefully, or at least not catastrophically, which is part of its charm. The neighbors’ feud gets way out of hand, but “Native Gardens” does not lose sight of the possibility for accord.
The play’s romantic sensibilities and its dramatic warning of how rapidly disagreements can rage out of control are balanced by slapstick. There are some supporting characters in the play, yard workers with hoses and rakes. A leaf blower causes hysteria.
“Native Gardens” has also been praised for how evenly it treats its characters. “A friend said to me that ‘First you judge one couple, then you judge the other couple,’” Zacarías said.
Karen Zacarias works at her favorite spot in the townhouse she shares with four other playwrights participating in the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage, on September, 21, 2011 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
One fascinating side effect of “Native Gardens” is that it has inspired some theatergoers to introduce native plants to their own gardens. One of the conflicts is in the play is between gardeners who use chemicals and tools to make their gardens into immaculate idealized visions and those who find beauty in letting the plants grow naturally and organically.
Its familiarity, accessibility, topicality, social consciousness and riotous comedy all add to why “Native Gardens” quickly gained, and then maintained, such popularity.
“We did it in Cincinnati, and the next year there were four productions,” Zacarías recalled. There has never been a lull. It’s been done at big regionals, community theaters and colleges. It’s kind of in the Zeitgeist. People have said ‘How did you know?’ But I’ve always known these sentiments.
“I’ve been to very conservative and very liberal parts of the country where this show was done, and the outcome was the same,” Zacarías said. She noted that “it’s been done in Georgia, Arkansas, Nebraska. For a lot of theaters, this may be their first time having Latino actors onstage.”
Zacarías, who grew up in Mexico and in Atlanta, Georgia, is especially gratified that “Native Gardens” has been translated into Spanish.
Westport Country Playhouse gave “Native Gardens” a big, colorful production last year with lush green gardens and exotic plants. That theater has a proscenium stage, while Hartford Stage is known for its thrust stage that extends close to the audience. Does “Native Gardens” feel different in different configurations? Zacarías, who saw the Westport production and many others, said “I’ve seen it in the round, I’ve seen it on a proscenium… You always learn something. Sometimes you hear or see something a whole new way. Sometimes the actors can land a joke better than I ever could.”
The Hartford Stage production stars Alina Collins Maldonado and Bradley Tejeda as the del Valles and Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood as the Butleys.
Zacarías calls the director of the Hartford production, Nicole A. Watson, “skilled, thoughtful and warm.”
Zacarías has developed a large and wide-ranging body of work. She has done dramas about everything from science to fantasy, children’s theater, musicals for young adults and such singular projects as “Destiny of Desire: A Brechtian Telenovela.”
Zacarías’ latest project is a new musical, “Basura,” inspired by the true story of the Recycled Orchestra, a Paraguayan youth ensemble which plays musical instruments made from objects found in landfill. Zacarías wrote the book for the musical, which has songs by pop star Gloria Estefan and her daughter Emily. The premiere of “Basura,” directed by Michael Greif (who directed “Rent,” “Next to Normal” and “Dear Evan Hansen”), is in May at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
While she develops new works, Zacarías still tries to catch productions of her old ones, keeping track of the continued interest in “Native Gardens” and watching her garden grow.
“Native Gardens” by Karen Zacarías, directed by Nicole A. Watson, runs April 17 through May 10 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. There is an additional 2 p.m. matinee on May 6 but no 2 p.m. matinee on April 18. $20-$105. hartfordstage.org.
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