Way down - 4 stories below ground on West 46th street - resides an awesome theater experience called
Roundabout Underground. Funded and supported by
The Roundabout Theatre Company,
RU nourishes new, young playwrights by allowing their works to be presented on a black box stage all the while having the full support and backing of a professional theater company behind them.
In this case,
Kim Rosenstock is one of these new, young playwrights. This story involves Sherry (
Halley Feiffer), a young woman seeking success in her first job as an art teacher and art therapist. Ironically, it seems she and her family need just as much help as does her first client, Zack (
John Magaro), the son of the principal (
Reed Birney) at the school in which she has started teaching. Throw in a depressed sister, Grace (
Natasha Lyonne), and a mother locked in her room and you have the makings fit for a professional psychiatrist. Turns out Zack has a secret which we find out only later in the performance, that, only then, fully explains his behavior and anger.
I love attending performances at the
RU - it's always art in the true, raw, most pure form. This script with it's quirky characters and no-so-far-from-reality plot has great potential. It needs a few nips and tucks, a few adjustments to smooth out the choppy storyline and "oh my god, we have to wrap this up" ending - and I think one day we might even see this one on Broadway. Kudos to Kim. I hope we see more from her - and I certainly hope we see more of the adorable John Magaro.
In this case, Kim Rosenstock is one of these new, young playwrights. This story involves Sherry (Halley Feiffer), a young woman seeking success in her first job as an art teacher and art therapist. Ironically, it seems she and her family need just as much help as does her first client, Zack (John Magaro), the son of the principal (Reed Birney) at the school in which she has started teaching. Throw in a depressed sister, Grace (Natasha Lyonne), and a mother locked in her room and you have the makings fit for a professional psychiatrist. Turns out Zack has a secret which we find out only later in the performance, that, only then, fully explains his behavior and anger. 