Gruesome Playground Injuries

I'm glad the word "gruesome" was in the title of this show.  As I sat in the "playground" seating area (seats on the rear stage facing outward toward the audience leaving only two "walls" to the actors on stage) I soon learned just how gruesome those injuries were going to be.  It's a clever staging technique that I encourage everyone to ask for and enjoy.

A two-person, injury-ridden play that wraps up in 80 minutes is just about all the audience really could be subjected to on this topic by playwright Rajiv Joseph (soon also to be on Broadway with his work Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo staring Robin Williams).  Although it's graphic, it's not a two-hour horror flick either.  We follow the twisted (one might argue mentally unstable) children, Kayleen (Jennifer Carpenter) and Doug (Pablo Schreiber) from childhood to adulthood.  We start at 8 awkward years old and in various non-linear order end up at about 38 years old - drawn inexplicably to each other by injuries usually physical in nature.  Doug is the more outwardly weird one - getting into fights, showing his aggression, and harboring feelings for his best friend, Kayleen.  Superbly played by Mr. Schreiber, I always felt he was slightly mentally challenged and thus that drove his behavior.  Kayleen, on the other hand, while seemingly odd, is the more outwardly normal one - but not without her own problems - more internally driven - depression and rejection.  She's not loved by her father at all and ends up deeply depressed, cuts herself, takes drugs, and at her lowest point - tries to cut her stomach out.  Yes, gruesome is the operative word in the title.

Certainly not a happy play, but Mr. Joseph does have an ear for dialogue and undertones and the staging at 2ST is brilliantly executed.  There are no heroes in this play, no rescues, and not a whole lot of fun - but with two skilled actors, this play takes slices of life and reminds us about the fragility and delicate balance of life itself.

Awake and Sing!

You may find yourself wishing you were able to do either of the two key title words during the show! Seems strangely appropriate that this would be a Lincoln Center Theater production. Not sure if this one would be able to stand on its own as an independent production.

Unfortunately the cast was a dichotomy - either very talented - Zoe Wanamaker (the mother) or a series of "Broadway debuts". And believe me, you could see the difference. While it was nice to see Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) on stage I didn't get that same "she's deep" feeling as I get when seeing her on "screen". The brother (Pablo Schreiber) seemed slightly over-acted (perhaps that had something to do with the dated and stale plot). It was a treat to see Ben Gazzara - but I was not sure if his speech impediment was acting or the result of a recent stroke. Sad, but true.

Act I seemed to crawl. Act II picked up a bit - and I must say that I truly loved the use of the disappearing walls in the apartment to symbolize the "freeing" of the characters from their "emotional prisons" as time passed in the play. I think that WAS the best element of the show for me. The show progresses to the "obvious" end (most seemed to know where Grandpa was going and what he was going to do). I just didn't think the play had the necessary ingredients to keep an audience interested over 2 hours and 30 minutes.

One other note - it seems that production had to have a special white sheet of paper inserted into the Playbill (like those "Is your Cell Phone off?" pages) to tell you that there would be an additional 2 minute pause between two scenes (in addition to the TWO intermissions!). Apparently, people have been getting up and leaving thinking the show was over at the wrong time. I wonder why?!

Or perhaps they simply took the opportunity to flee under cover of darkness!

Mr. Marmalade

Possibly the strangest, yet entertaining play I've ever seen! The story is the wild fantasy of a 4 year old and her immaginary friends. And what a cast of "characters" they all are! Let's cut to the chase - - the playright obviously want to tell us that children absorb almost everything around them - mood, demeanor, class, status, emotion and yes, even neglect. They watch too much TV and as entertainment in their own "imaginary world" re-construct these things with often "damaging" consequences.

The headliner here was Michael C. Hall - aka David Fisher from "Six Feet Under". But the real star of the show is Mamie Gunner. As 4 year old Lucy, she never left the stage and gave a supurb "adult" performance.

Leave it to Roundabout to construct the best sets in the business. This one - a curved 1960's-esque living room - had the most ingeneous "secret" doors - which often revealed small doses of "glitz" to enhance your viewing experience. The Laura Pells Theater is a perfect size for this type of production.

PSA: Spend more quality time with your kids.