Do You Feel Anger?

C

After a well-received run at last year’s Humana Festival, Mara Nelson-Greenberg’s absurdist comedy about the deranged staff of a debt collection agency and the hapless empathy coach who has brought in to work with them has arrived in New York at Vineyard Theatre. We meet Sofia (Tiffany Villarin; Teenage Dick), whose confidence that she can shape people up is soon put to the test. Jon (Greg Keller; The Amateurs, Belleville), the office manager, wants to think of himself as a nice guy, but we soon see that is a delusion. Eva (Megan Hill; Eddie and Dave), the sole remaining female employee, claims that she has been mugged in the break room with regularity. She can’t remember the name of the boyfriend she just broke up with and is given to oversharing with customers on four-hour phone calls. Janie, the other female employee, went to the bathroom several days ago and has not been seen since. Howie (Justin Long; Seminar) is obsessed with the idea of unreciprocated oral sex and has fearsome temper tantrums. Jordan (Ugo Chukwu; What To Send Up When It Goes Down) has no sense of propriety and fancies himself a poet. We also meet Sofia’s mother (Jeanne Sakata) via pleading phone messages to her daughter that go unanswered. The final character is an old man (Tom Aulino; On the Town) who has a very funny scene which has little bearing on the play and should probably be eliminated. The exercises Sofia uses to teach empathy often lead to hilarious situations. Each employee gets at least one scenery-chewing moment. Cumulatively it’s a bit like a string of very funny SNL sketches. The actors really give it their all, particularly Mr. Long and Ms. Hill. Greg Keller is a master at playing someone who is just slightly “off.” Will Sofia succeed or will they wear her down? It’s a close race. Late in the play, the set by Laura Jellinek (Marvin's Room, Oklahoma!) makes a showy transformation leading to a final scene that I found muddled and unsatisfactory. The costumes by Emilio Sosa (On Your Feet!) are appropriate to each character. The lighting by Marie Yokoyama (Daybreak) is a bit hyperactive. The direction by Margot Bordelon (Eddie and Dave) is smooth. If there is a message here, I would guess it is something about the sorry state of women office workers. Some of the play’s moments are so funny that it might be tempting to overlook the flaws that, for me, ultimately led to disappointment. Running time: 90 minutes; no intermission.