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I had seen Second Stage’s original production in 2009 but only remembered two things about it: 1) the title character does not appear until late in the first act; 2) another character, superbly played by David Wilson Barnes in that production, was one of the most entertainingly loathsome people I had ever seen on a stage. He made me hate him but also miss him every minute he wasn’t onstage. As Max Garrett, Alden Ehrenreich may not quite reach the heights – or depths – that Barnes reached, but he comes close enough. Nearly everything he utters is at least borderline abusive, but presented so wittily that you almost forgive him and beg for more. The wonderful Linda Emond shines as Susan Slater, the woman who took him in when he was 10 and raised him. She is also a straight shooter who has no tolerance for sentiment. Lauren Patten is very good as her sourpuss mid-30s daughter Suzanna who is emotionally dependent on Max. In the less showy role of her husband, Andrew Porter, Patrick Ball makes a fine, empathetic good guy whose goodness may not be a blessing. Finally, there is our enigmatic title character, well played by Madeline Brewer, who is either a mousy sad sack or a master manipulator or both. The play has an interesting structure – a first act with two long scenes, the first in New York, the second in Providence, and a second act with six short scenes alternating between Providence and Boston and a final longer scene in Richmond. The play opens four months after the death of the Slater paterfamilias, who has left behind financial chaos and a surprising secret. Suzanna can’t stop mourning, while Susan has moved on to vacationing in Key West with a gigolo. Max attempts to pull Suzanna out of her sorrow to reengage with life. He suggests she try skiing. Eight months later, she has a shiny new husband that she met on a ski trip. When the newlyweds decide to fix Max up on a blind date with Becky Shaw, a temp in Andrew’s office, we get a vivid demonstration of the adage that no good deed goes unpunished. Playwright Gina Gionfriddo’s dialogue is continually snappy, her characters are vivid, and there was more laughter than I had heard in a theater in a long time. Some of the laughs came at times that puzzled me -- it was as if the audience had decided to provide a laugh track to the play. Ball, Brewer and Ehrenreich are all making promising Broadway debuts. David Zinn’s minimalist scenic design astonished me with a lavish set change for the final scene. Kaye Voyce’s costumes are apt. The songs played between scenes are well-chosen. Trip Cullman’s direction is well-paced. All in all it was a very entertaining afternoon and I predict it will be one of the season’s hits. I don’t have a clue what message I am supposed to take away from it, but just being entertained is sometimes enough. Running time: two hours 30 minutes including intermission.
