Clybourne Park

Bruce Norris' book is a gem.  The concept of a "then and now" production is not new, but he has brilliantly crafted a story that demonstrates just how far we've come - and at the same time - how little has changed.  Except for Annie Parisse, I'd not heard of anyone in the cast, but i must say a skilled ensemble all around.

One of the most brilliant aspects of this production (i am not sure if this is how it was intended or just a stroke of genius of the director) is how the entire cast in act one is recycled in act two as other characters.  It makes sense since they are really totally separate stories bound together by a common thread - the house.   

Act I tells the story of Bev (Kristina Kirk) and Russ (Frank Wood) in 1959 and the house they had to sell (no spoilers here) and to whom they elected to sell it.

Act II tells the tale of the same house in 2009 - in much worse shape - and the couple that tries to buy it.   In each time period we are given a glimpse into the internal workings of family, society, and prejudice.

We've certainly changed on many fronts, but then again, perhaps the shoe has just changed feet.

A Lifetime Burning

Well

A mere 4 shows ago - i warned you - beware when the person who WROTE the show actually STARS IN the show too... Here we go again! "Well" is not your standard Broadway play. I'm really not sure what Lisa Korn is trying to convey either. Some mish-mash about how some people are perpetually "sick" and others get "well". (get it? - well, as in healthy).

The play meanders in and out of her "real life" and "stage life". She's one minute putting on a play (scene by scene) and the next chatting with her mother (yes, this is the woman who was asleep in her chair on stage while you are arriving into the theater). I really did like the mother's character - she was the funny one (Jayne Houdyshell). Periodically she applies a theatrical "trick" of switching the stage lights off and speaking to the audience under a focused spot light to confess to us something she doesn't want her monther to hear. (my friend Dennis Larkin will tell me what the name of that theatrical trick is, i'm sure). Low and behold, she then pulls the joke of having her mother tell her - "I can hear you, you know"! Oh brother - how trite!!

She seems to focus on "sick" people - and all i could tell is that she is trying to say the some people need attention, need to create "drama" about something - and in this case it's the "allergies" excuse. "Everything wrong with your health is due to allergies" seems to be what her mother subscribes to - Aches, Pains, Fatigue, and everything else. That was somehow juxtaposed against her mother's desire to live in a racially integrated neighborhood in Detroit in the 1960's. Her mother was somehow able to lead the neighborhood and make it "well" (healing racial devides), but yet she was otherwise a "sick" older lady. (Huh?!! What's the connection?!!)

What's the point? I mean really - we all walked out of the theater wondering what she was really trying to tell us. (remember, she really was speaking to us - breaking the 4th wall and all)....

I have a better perscription for you - stay home in bed and eat some chicken soup - it's only $3.99 at Fairway. Far cheaper than a ticket to "Well".