Clyde's

 A-

Twice Pulitzer-awarded playwright Lynn Nottage (Ruined, Sweat) wrote this comedy with serious overtones and a touch of magic realism at the same time that she was working on Sweat. Both share a Reading, PA setting but are otherwise quite different. Clyde’s (formerly called Floyd’s when it premiered at the Guthrie Theater in 2019) is the name of the roadside sandwich shop owned by the titular character (Uzo Aduba, Godspell, “In Treatment”). All her employees have been recently released from jail. Taking full advantage of the fact that they are desperate, she treats them abominably and tries to squeeze any drop of hope out of them. We meet Letitia (Kara Young, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven), a young single mother with a chronically ill child; Rafael (Reza Salazar; Sweat, My Mañana Comes), a romantic Latino; newly hired Jason (Edmund Donovan, Greater Clements, Lewiston/Clarkson), who is covered with gang tattoos; and Montrellous (Ron Cephas Jones, “This Is Us,” “Mr. Robot”), an older man of philosophic bent who inspires the others with his quest for the perfect sandwich. We learn the backstory of each employee. As they work, they describe to each other their vision of sandwich perfection and occasionally make one for the others to try. Significantly, Clyde refuses to try any of Montrellous’s creations. The acting is universally superb. The set by Takeshi Kata (Cambodian Rock Band), lighting by Christopher Akerlind (Indecent, The Last Ship) and costumes by Jennifer Moeller (Sweat, Aubergine) contribute greatly to this Second Stage production. Kate Whoriskey, who has often demonstrated her affinity for Nottage’s work before (Ruined, Sweat, Intimate Apparel), directs with smooth precision. The ending will definitely get your attention. A word of caution: don’t attend when you are hungry — the rapturous descriptions of ideal sandwiches will have you salivating. (Running time 100 minutes, no intermission.)

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.

Lewiston/Clarkston

B- (Lewiston C+/Clarkston B+)

These two separate but thematically related plays by Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale, Pocatello) are being presented together for the first time at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Each involves a descendant of Lewis and Clark trying to find meaning by retracing the steps of their forefathers. Both have a scene set on the Fourth of July. 

In the first play, Lewiston, we meet Alice (Kristin Griffith; Animal, Da), a crusty older woman who has sold off most of the ranch that had been in the family since 1850 and is barely hanging on. The few dollars she earns from her roadside fireworks stand are supplemented by the Walgreens earnings of her 50-ish closeted roommate Connor (Arnie Burton; The 39 Steps, Machinal). She is planning to sell her remaining land to the developers of Meriwether Terrace, the condo estate going up next door. The unexpected arrival of her estranged granddaughter Marnie (Leah Karpel; The Harvest, Pocatello), whom she has not seen in over 15 years, disrupts these plans. The abrasive, condescending Marnie has sold her share of an urban farm in Seattle and wants to buy what’s left of the family property. Marnie likes to play the tapes her late mother recorded during her hike following Lewis and Clark’s steps to the Pacific. The three reach some kind of equilibrium. I found the characters less fully developed than I would have liked and their motivations less than clear. 

For the second play, Clarkston, Hunter, affectionately nicknamed the Bard of Boise because all his plays are set in Idaho, actually moves the setting across the border to Washington State. Jake (the ever youthful Noah Robbins; Brighton Beach Memoirs, “Master Harold”…and the Boys), a distant descendant of William Clark, is a recent arrival in town who has taken a job as night stock boy in the local Costco where he is being shown the ropes by Chris (Edmund Donovan; The Snow Geese), an amiable employee also in his 20’s. After graduating Bennington with a major in post-colonial gender studies, the privileged Jake has suddenly left home to follow the historic trail to the Pacific. He has stopped short of his goal to earn some money before pushing on to the ocean. Jake tells Chris that he has recently been diagnosed with early Huntington’s disease which will probably kill him before he reaches 30 and shortly after his diagnosis was dumped by his boyfriend. It turns out that Chris is furtively gay and the two begin a relationship of sorts. We next meet Chris’s mother Trish (Heidi Armbruster; Time Stands Still, Disgraced), an allegedly recovering meth addict, from whom Chris has desperately been trying to cut the cord. The climactic confrontation between mother and son is gut-wrenching. Chris and Jake find a way to comfort each other, at least for the time being.

As usual, Hunter is very compassionate toward his characters, all of whom must struggle for freedom, whether economic or sexual or from addiction. His look at life in the new West is a bleak one.

For this production, Rattlestick has gutted the theater. Dane Laffrey (Once on This Island) has designed two different performance spaces. For the first play, the audience of 51 sits on three sides of the action with a fireworks stand on the fourth. For the second, seating is in two longer facing rows with Costco shelves on both short sides. The costumes by Jessica Wegener Shay (A Kid Like Jake) are appropriate to the characters. The actors are all superb and are so close that you can practically touch them, a proximity that magnifies your connection. Between plays, the audience shares a communal meal during the 45-minute break. You can order barbecued chicken or tofu or bring your own food.

At three hours 45 minutes, it’s a very long evening, especially sitting on barely padded metal chairs. I felt that the direction by Davis McCallum (Pocatello, The Whale) was more than a little sluggish. Each play is 90 minutes, a full evening by today’s standards. I would have preferred skipping Lewiston and just seeing Clarkston, which I felt was clearly the better play.