When We Were Young and Unafraid

Sarah Treem has been busy these past few years and I didn't even realize it.   Aside from writing this mesmerizing and provocative new play, When We Were Young and Unafraid, she's been busy working as an executive producer on two very successful and poignant modern television dramas, HBO's In Treatment and Netflix's House of Cards.  Yeah, that's a big WOW.

In this stage play, Sarah brings a woman running a battered women's shelter together with a recent visitor to her secret shelter, an invading nomadic lesbian searching for meaning, a guest of the B&B she runs as the "front" and the girl she calls her daughter.  The year is 1972 and all the rules are different from today.  Packed like a stick of dynamite, this play is about ready to explode off the pages before you throw in the indomitable stage actress Cherry Jones (Agnes), the potent and explosive Cherise Boothe (Hannah), the mesmerizing Zoe Kazan (Mary Anne), the youthful powerhouse  Morgan Saylor (Penny), and the dashing Patch Darragh (Paul).  Light the fuse - and POW - it's burning the entire time.

The entire time is perhaps the only problem with this show - at 2h:20m, it's perhaps a bit too long for its own good.  Not a bad problem to have, however.  Find the least best thing (it's gonna be hard) and trim it down and I think you have the perfect run time for this powerhouse.  Check out the promo video which will help explain a bit further.  In the meantime - get your tickets now - Manhattan Theater Club's Stage I at City Center 

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Kin

Bathsheba Doran's new work, Kin, is an irresistibly poignant and modern snapshot of friends and family and what defines our close relationships.   As usual at Playwrights Horizons - well cast, well directed and well acted.

The story revolves around Sean (Patch Darragh) and Anna (Kristen Bush) and their ever-tightly-woven quilt of immediate family and friends - including Sean's mother, Linda (Suzanne Bertish), Anna's best friend, Helena (Laura Heisler) and her father, Adam (Cotter Smith).  The story unfolds over time in brief vignettes on an elegantly designed set that can best be described as a large white picture frame - capturing all the many and diverse moments of our lives.

The play is performed without intermission - an intelligent choice - as it allows the audience engross itself in the unfolding life story of the 9 characters.  Before you know it, the story rises to a crescendo on the cliffs in Ireland - (rain and mist included in the ticket price) - and ends with a touching Kodak moment in that big white picture frame.   Put this one on your must-see list.  But, no flash photos please.

Crimes of the Heart

Beth Henley, the Pulitzer prize winning playwright brought us Crimes of the Heart in 1979. Roundabout Theater Company brought it to us briefly in 1980 in a limited run. It enjoyed a substantial Broadway run at the John Golden Theater in 1981. Most of us don't remember any of that, but do recall the 1986 film adaptation staring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek.

Well, none of them were here this time around. Kathleen Turner makes her directorial debut toiling over relative stage newcomers Jennifer Dundas (Arcadia), Lily Rabe (Heartbreak House, Steal Magnolias) and Sarah Paulson (Glass Menagerie, The Sisters Rosensweig).

The story comes across a bit dated (circa 1974, Hazelhurst, Mississippi). The southern were accents a bit over-done, and the overall premise, aside from the black comedy aspects, a tad bit dumb. Many may remember the movie having more off-beat characters. Not found here. One bright spot in the play was the above average performance by Jennifer Dundas. Unlike her two other sisters, she delivered a believable and empathetic performance.
Stick with the movie and let's wait for Kathleen Turner to sink her chops into some better material next time!