American Son

B-

Lest we take unwarranted comfort in the belief that events like the one underlying this harrowing drama are safely in the past, playwright Christopher Demos-Brown has specified the time of this play as “shortly after 4:00 AM on a day this coming June.” In the waiting room of a Miami police station on a stormy night, Kendra (Kerry Washington; Race, “Scandal”), an African-American psychology professor, is frantic with worry over the whereabouts of her 18-year-old son Jamal, whose car has been involved in an unspecified police incident. She is not getting any answers from passive-aggressive Officer Paul Larkin (Jeremy Jordan; Newsies) whose inexperience leads him to cling to protocol by telling her that she must await the arrival of Lt. John Spokes (Eugene Lee; A Soldier’s Play), the public affairs officer, for further details. They engage in an unproductive shouting match which has a few ironically humorous moments. When her estranged husband Scott (Stephen Pasquale; Junk, The Bridges of Madison County), a white FBI agent, arrives, sporting a badge on his belt, Larkin mistakes him for Stokes, unlikely as that may seem, and lets loose a barrage of sexist, racist remarks. Scott is used to getting his way and reacts badly to being obstructed. The arrival of Stokes surprises them all because he is black, a hard-nosed realist who takes no guff from anyone. We learn about Jamal’s sterling qualities, his promising future and his bad reaction to his parents’ split. Although we get a glimpse of what initially attracted Kendra and Scott, their constant disagreement on just about everything makes it hard to imagine their marriage could have lasted 18 years. The action takes place in real time. The tension steadily builds until the sudden shattering climax. It’s a play that grabs your attention and never lets go. What it lacks in artistry and subtlety, it makes up for in audience involvement. The choice of a story about a mixed-race son may add dimension to the plot, but the distinction between mixed-race and black is not significant to the police. The acting is uniformly strong. The set by Derek McLane (The Parisian Woman) looks too modern and plush. It is hard to believe that it is part of a station that still has two water fountains left over from segregation days. The costumes by Dede Ayite (School Girls, Children of a Lesser God) are apt. The direction by Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, Fences) is brisk. Without Kerry Washington’s participation, it probably would not have made it to Broadway. That would have been a shame. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.

Napoli, Brooklyn

C

Playwright Meghan Kennedy does not exactly have a knack for titles. Her promising 2013 work for Roundabout Underground was titled “Too Much, Too Much, Too Many.” Whatever relationship that had to the play was lost on me. Now she has “graduated” up a level at Roundabout from the Black Box to the Laura Pels Theatre for this semi-autobiographical drama about an Italian family made up of a tyrannical father originally from Naples, a long-suffering mother and three daughters in Brooklyn in 1960. This title is an improvement, but not exactly an attention grabber. Perhaps she should have called it “Three Sisters See the View from the Bridge” or, for reasons that will be very clear near the end of the first act, just “Boom!” Actually the title of her earlier play would have been more suitable for this one because it suffers from too much plot and too many characters. Nic Muscolino (Lev Gorn) is embittered that he has no sons. His wife Ludovica (the excellent Alyssa Bresnahan) prays to God via an onion that she hopes will restore her ability to cry. 26-year-old Tina (Lilli Kay) has been forced to forgo an education and go to work in a tile factory to help support the family. 20-year-old Vita (Elise Kibler; Indian Summer) has been shipped off to a convent after her father has broken her nose and a few ribs when she threatened him with a pair of scissors to prevent him from attacking 16-year-old Francesca (Jordyn DiNatale) for cutting off her long curls. Francesca is a budding lesbian who is planning to stow away on a ship to France with her very close friend Connie Duffy (Juliet Brett; What I Did Last Summer). Connie’s widowed father Albert (the fine Erik Lochtefeld; The Light Years, Small Mouth Sounds), the neighborhood butcher, has a crush on Ludovica. Celia Jones (Shirine Babb) is an African-American coworker of Tina’s who becomes her only friend. The second act deals with the differing ways each character copes with the cataclysmic event that actually occurred in Brooklyn in 1960. After a fractious Christmas dinner, there is a quiet denouement. My many reservations include a gratuitous SM scene with a lit cigarette, an unclear explication of the circumstances of one character’s departure and a feminist pep talk at the end that seemed anachronistic at best. Furthermore, something is amiss when the most touching moment in the play is a brief exchange between two peripheral characters. Gordon Edelstein's direction was a bit sluggish. The set by Eugene Lee suggests multiple locations by the use of signs and symbols hung high above the stage. The costumes by Jane Greenwood are authentic to the period. The sound design by Fitz Patton and lighting design by Ben Stanton are most effective. All in all, I preferred the playwright’s earlier, more focused offering for Roundabout. Running time: 2 hours including intermission.

The Fortress of Solitude ***

You have to give a lot of credit to director Daniel Aukin for conceiving the idea of turning Jonathan Lethem’s 528-page novel into a musical. Itamar Moses’s book manages to retain much of the book’s spirit and keeps the narrative reasonably clear. For me, the outstanding feature of this production, now in previews at the Public Theater, is Michael Friedman’s wonderful score. Ranging from R&B through gospel to hip-hop, Friedman’s music and lyrics brilliantly capture the musical background underpinning the lives of two Brooklyn boys, one white, the other black, starting in the 1970’s, before Gowanus became Boerum Hill. Dylan Ebdus (Adam Chanler-Berat) is the son of Abraham (Ken Barnett), an emotionally distant artist, and Rachel (Kristen Sieh), an activist who is proud that her son is one of only three white students in his school, but soon abandons him. Adam befriends Mingus (Kyle Beltran), a black neighbor who is also motherless and also named for a musician. Mingus protects Dylan from the neighborhood bully Robert Woolfolk (Brian Tyree Henry). The close friendship between Mingus and Dylan includes a bit of teenage sexual experimentation. Mingus’s father Barrett Rude Jr. (Kevin Mambo) is a burned-out coke addict, who once had a musical career that seemed promising but never caught fire. When Mingus’s preacher grandfather Barrett Rude Sr. (Andre de Shields) is released from jail and moves in with his kin, tragedy ensues. For anyone living in New York during the mid-seventies, the show recreates much of the societal context of racial strife, drugs, graffiti, blackouts, the so-called justice system, and the first stages of gentrification. The music is terrific, especially when sung by Barrett Rude Jr.’s singing group --the Subtle Distinctions -- and by de Shields. Eugene Lee’s set is appropriately drab and Jessica Pabst’s costumes suit the characters well. In both the novel and the musical, the introduction of a ring with magical properties seemed both unnecessary and a distraction. I am not sure how clear the story will be for those who have not read the book. Nevertheless, the wonderful score, the excellent performances and the show’s bold ambition won me over. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

My Name Is Asher Lev ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Aaron Posner's adaptation of Chaim Potok's novel about a young Hasid in 1950's Brooklyn who is driven to become an artist despite the conflicts it will create with his family and his community is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying. The title character ages roughly 15 years the course of the play from childhood to young adulthood. Ari Brand, through quiet intensity,  mostly meets the challenge of portraying several ages convincingly. Mark Nelson skillfully creates the roles of his father, his mentor and the rebbe with equal impact. Jenny Bacon is fine as his long-suffering mother, a gallery owner and a model. Eugene Lee's dark wooden set serves well as the Levs' apartment and an art studio. Ilona Somogyi's costumes and David Bova's wigs effectively delineate the characters. Gordon Edelstein's direction hits the right notes. The script's use of narration is greater than I would have preferred, but that did not significantly diminish my enjoyment. Running time: 90 minutes without intermission.

The Other Place (revisited) ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete reiview.)
Are worthy new plays so hard to find that Manhattan Theatre Club must resort to offering subscribers a play that had a perfectly good off-Broadway production just last year? This was my review when I saw the play at MCC Theater April 17, 2011:

A gripping performance by Laurie Metcalf overcame qualms I had about some of the plot points in Sharr White's new drama at the Lucille Lortel. Metcalf plays a prickly research scientist who has an "episode" during a lecture to a group of doctors. In a kaleidoscope of brief scenes that move backward and forward in time, we gradually learn that all is not what it seems. When all the pieces fall into place and we understand what really ails her, the effect is devastating. Dennis Boutsikaris is excellent as her husband and Aya Cash succeeds in multiple roles. John Schiappa has very little opportunity to shine. The stark set by Eugene Lee and the lighting by Justin Townsend are very effective. Joe Mantello ably directed this MCC production. The play's 80 minutes flew by. Although sometimes painful to watch, Metcalf's riveting performance made it worthwhile.

I found that this is not a play that improves with a second viewing. The rapid alternation of short scenes was more annoying than intriguing this time. The weakness of some plot points stood out more. Daniel Stern and Zoe Perry have assumed the roles of the husband and The Woman; I preferred their counterparts at MCC. Although it's always worthwhile to see Laurie Metcalf, even her bravura performance seemed less nuanced In the new production. Eugene Lee's abstract set seemed overwhelming and the frequent use of harsh fluorescent lighting by Justin Townsend was unpleasant. I still don't understand how having Metcalf sit in a chair onstage for 15 minutes before the play begins improves anything. Running time: 80 minutes without intermission.

Heartless *

The world premiere production of Sam Shepard's latest play is now in previews at the Signature Theatre. Let me begin by confessing that I have always preferred Shepard the actor to Shepard the playwright. There is something about his subject matter, his blend of humor, drama, lyricism and the absurd that has rarely appealed to me. Seeing Heartless has not made me a convert. The action takes place at a home overlooking Los Angeles inhabited by two sisters, their wheelchair-bound mother and her mysterious nurse. The younger sister, who has a huge scar running down her torso, has invited an older professor of Spanish literature, who has run out on his marriage, to move in. What follows is a hodgepodge of half-developed ideas that do not lead anywhere. Just when a situation gets interesting, Shepard drops it and goes elsewhere. Shepard does give each member of the fine cast (Jenny Bacon, Gary Cole, Betty Gilpin, Julianne Nicholson and Lois Smith) a chance to shine. I found Gilpin and Smith especially strong. Cole looked a bit too young for a 65-year old. Eugene Lee's bleak set makes awkward use of the stage, wasting most of the available space and thrusting into the front row of seats. Daniel Aukin's direction seemed sluggish, but that could just be the play. It was a frustrating evening. Running time: 2 hours, including intermission.