Greater Clements

B-

I suspect that the Idaho Chamber of Commerce wishes that native son Samuel D. Hunter would find a different setting for his next play. If one judged Idaho solely by his plays, which include The Whale, Pocatello, The Few and Lewiston/Clarkston, one could easily conclude that it is impossible to have a happy life anywhere in that state. Take Maggie (the magnificent Judith Ivey; Hurlyburly, Park the Car in Harvard Yard, The Heiress), the heroine of Hunter’s latest play, now in previews at Lincoln Center Theater. She has been disappointed by all the significant men in her life: her father, who broke up her romance with a young Japanese-American man; her husband, Caleb, who left her for a man; and her son Joe (a remarkable Edmund Donovan; Lewiston/Clarkston), who suffers from mental illness. Maggie runs the town’s mine museum and its popular tours of the abandoned mine where 81 men including her father perished in a fire several years ago. Joe, now 27 and recently back from six years in Alaska, helps her by serving as a tour guide. Hordes of wealthy Californians have built expensive weekend homes in the area and then tried to use their influence to bend local ways more to their liking. To prevent their gaining power, the townies have voted to unincorporate. One of the effects is that the museum must close and the tours must end. Maggie’s overbearing longtime friend Olivia (Nina Hellman; Pericles, 10 out of 12) is incensed over the seemingly spiteful vote and can’t stop talking about it. The town’s sole policeman, Wayne (Andrew Garman; Admissions, The Christians), soon to be the newly elected sheriff, drops by for pie. Eventually we learn why Joe had to leave town six years before, why he returned, and why Wayne keeps a close eye on him. Maggie’s former beau Billy (Ken Narasaki), now a widower, and his 14-year-old granddaughter Kel (Haley Sakamoto; Big Green Theater), who lives with him because her father is an abusive alcoholic, stop by for a visit, allegedly on the way to drop Kel off at a mock state legislature session. Billy really has come to see Maggie because he has hopes of rekindling their romance. Only someone who has never seen a Hunter play would think that there is any way in the world that this will end happily, so the only real suspense is in how their dreams will be thwarted. The first two acts lay out the groundwork skillfully. Unfortunately, the third act goes off the rails and turns into melodrama. A powerful flashback seems manipulative because of where it is inserted. In addition, the final scene brings in a new character, Mona (Kate MacCluggage; The Farnsworth Invention) whose role adds nothing to the mix and leads to a weak ending. Perhaps in the week remaining before opening night, they will whip the third act into shape. I hope so. My disappointment was all the more acute because I liked the first two acts so well. One other negative aspect is the set by Dane Laffrey (The Harvest, Once on This Island). In order to gain the suggestion of a mine elevator, there are three thick pillars that periodically block the view of a good portion of the audience. The platform supported by the pillars rises and lowers to reveal different levels of the house. It seemed a very cumbersome solution to a problem that could have been solved much more simply. Also a dozen or so audience members are seated onstage for no particular reason. Despite its shortcomings, the play is worth seeing just for the great performances by Judith Ivey and Edmund Donovan. Just accept the fact that it is a downer. Davis McCallum’s (The Whale, Pocatello, The Few and Lewiston/Clarkston) direction is assured most of the time, although the play could use some trimming. Running time: two hours 50 minutes including two short intermissions.

Admissions

A-

The double-edged title of this provocative new play by Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other) at Lincoln Center Theater refers not only to choosing college students but to acknowledging the gap between behavior and ideals. The setting is Hillcrest School, a New Hampshire prep school where Sherri Rosen-Mason (Jessica Hecht; The Price, The Assembled Parties) is dean of admissions, her husband Bill Mason (Andrew Garman; The Christians, The Moors) is headmaster and their son Charlie Luther Mason (Ben Edelman; Significant Other) is a bright senior. Sherri is proud that in her 15 years on her job she has tripled minority enrollment. In the first scene, she harshly berates Roberta (Ann McDonough; Dinner at Eight, What I Did Last Summer), a drolly passive-aggressive, older, long-time employee responsible for publishing the school bulletin for not including enough photos of minority students. We next meet her close friend Ginnie Peters (Sally Murphy; A Man of No Importance, LCT’s Carousel), a white woman married to a biracial man and mother of the unseen Perry, Charlie’s best friend since early childhood. When Yale accepts Perry but places Charlie on the deferred list, Charlie is humiliated. The 15-minute rant he delivers about the disadvantaged status of the white male besieged by affirmative action and feminism is the play’s dramatic highlight. Bill is horrified that his son has not absorbed the liberal values on which he was raised and calls him a spoiled brat. Sherri casts aside her professional views and behaves like any sympathetic mother. Her friendship with Ginnie is put to the test when Sherri does not rebuke her son for saying that Perry’s acceptance was racially motivated. Later, Charlie reflects on his situation and decides to pursue a sacrificial course of action more in accord with his parents’ values. Instead of pleasing them, this infuriates them and they do all they can to undermine his decision. Harmon has cleverly plotted the proceedings to show how noble intentions can be overruled when personal advantage is threatened. The dialogue is sharp and the balance between satire and realism is mostly successful. A few scenes run a bit longer than necessary. The cast brings the characters vividly to life vividly. Jessica Hecht avoids the mannerisms that sometimes mar her performances. Ben Edelman shows great promise. Ann McDonough is a delight. Riccardo Hernandez’s (Parade, Indecent) set combines Sherri’s office and home. The location of her desk right in the center with her home furniture around the edges suggests that her job is central to her life. I was sitting in the front row and the presence of actors shouting less than two feet away was a bit startling. Toni-Leslie James’s (Come from Away, Jitney) costumes are apt. Director Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews, 4000 Miles, Fulfillment Center) shows a real affinity for Harmon’s work, which, to me, has been improving with each new play. Running time: one hour 40 minutes; no intermission.

The Moors

C

Jen Silverman’s dark, quirky comedy for Playwrights Realm brings us the world of the Brontes with a touch of Beckett. Agatha and Huldey are sisters living in the family manse after the death of their father. Agatha, a seemingly serene spinster, as played by Linda Powell (The Christians), is a dead ringer for Gertrude Stein. Her emotionally flamboyant younger sister Huldey (Birgit Huppuch of Men on Boats) has literary pretensions and tries to read her diary to anyone who will listen. Emilie (Chasten Harmon) is a pretty young governess who has just arrived after being recruited through letters allegedly written by the sisters’ unseen brother Branwell. The reasons for his absence and for her being hired to care for a nonexistent child are eventually revealed. Hannah Cabell (Men on Boats) plays the dour Marjory, the scullery maid, and Mallory, the parlor maid, who may be the same person. Andrew Garman (The Christians) plays the sisters’ large mastiff who suffers from loneliness and depression. Teresa Avia Lim plays the injured moor-hen the mastiff takes a fancy to and has philosophical discussions with. All the repressed emotion leads to an outburst of violence, followed by a song, complete with mic. The ending is rather low-key. The subplot of the two animals is interesting, but does not really cohere with the main story. The production is first-rate. The cast is uniformly strong, the understated set by Dane Laffrey is evocative, the costumes by Anita Yavich are wonderful, the lighting by Jen Schriever is effective and there’s lots of fog. Mike Donahue’s direction is smooth. What the play lacks in coherence, it almost makes up for in cleverness and originality. It would benefit from a 15-minute trim. It was well-received by the audience, which must have had a median age below 30. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no intermission.

The Christians **

My college roommate made a useful distinction between “interesting” and “enjoyable.” I would have to put this new play by Lucas Hnath now previewing at Playwrights Horizons, in the former category. Hnath’s ambition in tackling the thorny topic of religion, his unusual structuring, his stylistic choices such as having the actors only speak through microphones are all intriguing. And yet, the results, at least for me, were less than stirring. The imposing set that greets us shows the platform of a church, complete with burnished wood, five throne-like chairs, a gigantic illuminated cross, an organ and huge television screens. A choir of 20 serenades us. Four of the characters are seated. Each has a mic tethered to a cord. Paul (a plausibly charismatic Andrew Garman), pastor of the impressive megachurch that is celebrating paying off its debt, gives a sermon that includes a drastic reinterpretation of an important church tenet. Joshua (Larry Powell), the associate pastor, who cannot accept the new dogma, is forced to resign and takes 50 congregants with him. Church elder Jay (Philip Kerr) tries unsuccessfully to be a mediator. When Jenny (Emily Donahoe), a seemingly naive congregant emerges from the choir to give testimony, she raises a series of provocative questions both about the content of the sermon and its timing, Paul’s answers make a bad situation worse. When he turns to his wife Elizabeth (Linda Powell), who has been sitting there for an hour without saying a word, for support, he does not get the response he expects. Joshua returns briefly to explain his views to Paul. In an effective scene, we get Paul’s inner thoughts whispered through his mic. We can follow Paul’s deepening crisis through the way he handles his mic cord through the play, first wrangling it like a cowboy and eventually struggling not to get tripped by it. The ending of the play is quiet and flat. Dane Laffrey's set is a knockout. Connie Furr Soloman's costumes are apt. Les Waters's direction is assured. I admire Hnath’s bold ambition and look forward to his upcoming play at New York Theatre Workshop. I just wish the results had turned out better this time. Running time 95 minutes, no intermission.