Review: Cherry Jones Stars in an Affecting Drama with a Feminist Slant

The lives of a sheltered teen and an abused wife intersect at a pivotal moment for each in When We Were Young and Unafraid, an affecting drama from thirty-something playwright Sarah Treem. Directed by Pam McKinnon (Clybourne Park), the MTC production has just opened at New York City Center’s Stage I. Cherry Jones leads the 1970s-set ensemble piece as Agnes, owner of a Pacific Northwest B&B that does double-duty as an underground shelter for domestic violence victims. Only a sliding door to Agnes’s kitchen separates paying vacationers from these battered women, whom the proprietress instructs to remain upstairs and out-of-sight until their wounds heal.