Pocatello

There's a new play on at Playwrights Horizons and it has a little bit of sexy-star-sizzle.  The always adorable and boyishly handsome T.R. Knight  (Eddie) takes the helm of Samuel D. Hunter's Pocatello along with the always divine Brenda Whele (Doris).

Unfortunately, this is not one of Mr. Hunter's best thought out plays. Yes, the idea is laudable - a man is lost in his very own hometown and searching for himself, his place, and his sense of family in an ever evolving landscape of unemployment, strip malls, fast food, and ATMs.  I get it.  I actually like the idea.  Mr. Hunter has appropriately captured the anger, character, and lost dreams of middle America in his dialogue.  For this I applaud him.

However, Mr. Hunter seems to have peppered the cast with characters that are all too interesting to not have developed.   Cameron Scoggins (Max) and Elvy Yost (Isabelle) both brilliantly acted, but their characters failed to advance the story.  Jonathan Hogan (Cole) is an older actor who just hit it out of the park with his onset of Alzheimer's affliction, but was this just for sympathy?  Leah Karpel nailed her performance of the angry young vegetarian-i hate my parents-nobody gets me routine, but do we really need one of these in every play?  Danny Wolohan (Troy) and his unhappy wife, Jennifer Dickey (Tammy) had the requisite bad marriage involving alcoholism, depression and the aforementioned angry daughter.  Cliche?  And what specifically was so emotionally visceral about that cheese-wiz casserole that Brett Hutchison (Nick) almost threw up on stage?  It just seemed to me that Mr. Hunter poured all the Lifetime movie characteristics into this play about middle America - the flyover states- middle of nowhere America.  All these characters distracted from the main character and his sense of loneliness and isolation from family.

The deepest sadness of the plot was therefore under-represented - -why exactly was Eddie so hell bent on keeping these mis-fit toys together?  We are not sufficiently introduced to his motivations, only his vague actions.  This becomes frustrating as you are constantly trying to figure out "why".  It is only at the very end that you learn a very tragic and sad fact about his mother, her motivations, and feelings about her gay son (yes, he threw this in for effect too).

You end up leaving the theatre with a deep sadness about family failings.  Perhaps Mr. Hunter succeeded in making us sad, but how or why we got there is at times a mystery - much like the pasta of the week on the menu.

Man and Boy

Ironic that just two days ago I saw a another off-Broadway play in which a wealthy wall-street type was driven to self-destruction.  The plot was certainly a different time and place but essentially a similar tale.  Man and Boy is one of playwright, Terence Rattigan's, early successes in the 1960's and rings as true, if not more-so, today.

Taking the helm at the American Airlines Theatre in the Roundabout Theater Company's revival is the consummate, Tony award winning actor, Frank Langella (Gregor Antonescu - i.e. "man").  Adeptly supporting him is the always dashing and polished Adam Driver (Basil Anthony - i.e. "boy").   Supporting ensemble cast members include Michael Siberry (Sven Johnson), Virginia Kull (Carol Penn), Zach Grenier (Mark Herries), Brian Hutchinson (David Beeston), and Francesca Faridany (Countess Antonescu).

The plot follows an approximately continuous 2 hour timeline in the Autumn of 1934 in the basement apartment in Greenwich Village of Basil Anthony, whom we quickly come to learn is the estranged son of international financier and power broker Greor Antonescu .  We quickly come to learn why Basil has fled his family 5 years ago and through a series of cold and calculated maneuvers, why his brilliant and domineering father may just be the world's most callus and wanted financial crook the world has ever seen.

Mr. Langella commands the stage with every breath and step.  Mr. Driver embodies the ethos of a 1930's young American socialist while at the same time cannot make the emotional break from his dirty dealing father.  The entire cast brilliantly supports the two leads.  Of special note is the comedic relief provided by the accountant, David Beetson (Mr. Hutchinson) and the steadfast dedication Sven Johnson (Mr. Siberry), personal assistant to Mr. Antonescu.

Man and Boy may take place during the 1930's depression era but is as relevant today as it ever was.  With the recent echos of Enron and Bernard Madoff not far behind us - this play hits as close, if not closer to home, in these currently difficult global and economic times.

Spirit Control

At first glance, one might think "Another cheerleader play"?  Alas, Spirit refers to an airfield in St. Louis and Control refers to the air-traffic control tower.  Now that we have that all cleared up - let's get this review off the ground.  Two hours - perfect length.  Jeremy Sisto - seems to nail the "wildly intense" and slightly disturbed" character with aplomb (Billy in HBO's Six Feet Under, Michael in Broadway's Festen, Det. Lupo in NBC's Law & Order).  Another bulls-eye here with Adam Wyatt.  Kudos, also, to a stand out performance by a young (and damn cute) up-and-coming performer - Arron Michael Davies (Tommy Wyatt). 

The play moves along somewhat predictably if you even breifly investigated what you were going to see - - something about an air traffic controller, a plane crash, and some dramatic circumstances that follow.   Sisto nails the first scene in the control tower magnificently.  What follows, however, is not so straightforward.  What I realized as the play progressed is that Maxine is not real.  Maxine, albeit a real human being on stage, (with real dialogue and comprehensible circumstances surrounding her) is just his twisted mind trying to grapple with the aftermath of his actions and the crash. 

Playwright, Beau Willimon, in my opinion has written a tremendous opus that asks us to explore how the subconscious can tear us, our families, and our lives apart if we we allow it.  However, he has, early on, thrown in so much that is believable, real, and tangible into the Maxine character (Mia Barron) that I think (correction, i know, based on my conversation with many confused patrons leaving the theatre - self included) that it didn't quite hit its mark.  By the time we got to the third and final scene - I assumed most people would have figured out (or at least suspected) what Maxine represented.  It could have ended without the curve-ball of one of the characters actually taking a multi-media dream sequence/aside (to Wyatt, however, not the audience directly) and explaining what we already should have known.  It was a crazy sequence that threw too much confusing, theoretical, and ultimately speculative information at the audience.  On a separate note, I also wondered why we were repeatedly told Wyatt had two sons, but then were only introduced to one of them, Tommy, on several occasions.  As the old saying goes "If you introduce a gun (or two, in this case) in Act I, you'd better use it (both, in this case) in Act II. 

I, for one, would rather have left the theatre asking some probing questions rather than asking "Did he really need to do that"?

From Up Here

Liz Flahive has penned a darkly funny, brutally honest, and shockingly common-place new work now unfolding on Stage I at the Manhattan Theater Club. From up Here tells the "everyday" tale of what might be considered the "normal" American family today.

And by "normal", I mean a family that has a slightly neurotic and frazzled working mom; a step-father who has no real career and can't seem to "find" himself; a daughter who is having sex with all the boys in high school; an aunt who basically ran away from life and enjoys climbing mountains and living like a backpacker. and last, but not least, a son who has done something wrong at high school - and by wrong i mean really wrong - and now has to live with the significant consequences of his actions. All normal, right?

Also, it's not really surprising that the setting is listed as "The Suburban Midwest", although these days, that could read "Anytown, USA. What Liz Flahive and director, Leigh Silverman, have done here is to skewer the "typical" American family and lay it bare for all to see.

No spoilers here - I won't tell you what Kenny has done. But it is OK for me to tell you that Tobias Segal (Equuis, Doris to Darleen) is a young, rising star to watch very closely. He's mastered the art of the troubled and disenchanted youth and he's given possibly the best performance of his career thus far. Tony award winner, Julie White aptly plays Grace, Kenny's mom. She's got a whole host of problems unto herself and now must deal with Kenny's new problem and its far reaching consequences.

Playing now thru June 22nd, come to The City Center and catch this new, smart work.