The Treasurer

A touching new play by a terrific American playwright, Max Posner.  The Treasurer tells the tale of an elderly mother, Ida Armstrong (Deanna Dunagan) who is slowly losing her mind, spent most of her money now whose children, primarily her son (Peter Friedman) must pay for her.  They love her.  They were never a close family.  Now her son is tired of paying.  How far will his generosity go?  How much will she get away with in asking him to spend?  How much longer will she have the few marbles she has left.  Ms. Dunagan mesmerizes in her performance, as if she knows what it is like to be in such a state.

This is the story of family, of devotion, and of the limits of the aforementioned topics.  What do we owe our parents?  These questions and this play push the limits and test the boundaries of aging, money, and family.  A well written, thoughtful work meant to get you thinking and feeling.

Bella: An American Tall Tale

Bella - or Isabella Patterson (Ashley D. Kelley) has a vivid and wild imagination indeed.  When she gets on a train to escape the pursuit of the law and heads west to New Mexico it really kicks into overdrive!  Her whole life, her mother (Kenita R. Miller) , aunt (Marinda Anderson), and grandmother (Natasha Yvette Williams) have known a special power to watch over her - and it is never needed as much as it is needed on this journey!  Bella meets the train conductor, Nathaniel Beckworth, (Brandon Gill) a circus master (Yurel Echezarreta), an Asian cowboy stripper, Tommie Haw, (Paolo Montalban), and many more vivid characters on the journey to meet her true love and betrothed, Aloysius T. Honeycutt (Britton Smith).  Oh the crazy and fun times she has when she falls asleep.  They are like no other.

In Kristen Child's new musical - whatever you see is real... or is it just a dream... what exactly is Bella in trouble for?  What did she do and who wants her back?  Is Aloysius real?  Can she really fly?  One thing is for sure - her booty is big and gives her the powers she needs to overcome just about any adversity.

The music and songs (all Ms. Childs) are delightful - a traditional old Broadway style - toe tappin' and fun.  The dancing is strong despite the tiny stage - which was a delightful stage within a stage due to the nature of the reality vs fantasy aspect of the plot.  Bella has the vocal cords of a giant and a personality to match - I really could picture Jennifer Hudson in the role.  One thing for sure, Ms. Childs infuses the fun and frivolity with serious undertones of race and freedom and gender equality - so that even a lay set in the late 1870's crackles with fresh perspectives.

Playwrights was right to end their season with this gem.  A common theme with plays fresh off the playwright's desk - this one is not different - too long and tries to say too much.  A few scenes cut and a few plot-lines deleted and we have a really fresh smash on our hands in just under 2 hours.  Head over to Playwrights Horizons for a summertime romp!

A Life

A powerful, humbling new play, A Life,  by Adam Bock is now playing over at Playwrights Horizons.  Mr. Bock explores life through a lonely, gay, introverted, quirky, and obsessive character, Nate Martin (David Hyde Pierce).  Not only does he explore his literal life, he explores the fleeting nature of life through his death.

Nate Martin is a complicated man yet at the same time, he's every man.  Frustrations, disappointments, plans, hopes, loves, dreams fill his life.  In the blink of an eye, things could change - and do.  About half of the play is spent watching Nate's body prepared for a funeral.  Life goes on around him, we hear his thoughts, and realize that it is all fleeting.

Nate is into astrology - the stars and planets and what they say about you and how they might explain your life.  To be honest, I'm not sure if that theme was meant to represent religion and its role in the human experience or possibly something more specific to Nate's belief system.  I do know there were no planetary realignments when he died so perhaps it just represents something that in the end, like everything else, is meaningless.

A touching, honest, and sad first scene; A shocking next turn of events with a dash of today's culture of inappropriateness thrown in just to make you shrug your shoulders; and a touching and brutally honest eulogy seen at the funeral capped most specifically by the thoughts from his mostly estranged sister (he was gay and from Minnesota and her comments were dripping with mid-western values and a complete lack of understanding, disappointment, and ultimately and ironically the same loneliness).

There's a funeral joke told by his best friend Curtis (Brad Heberlee) that you can't help but laugh at and at the same time makes you cringe.  Perfectly placed and such great acting around the uncomfortable nature of the whole affair.