True West

C-

Regular readers of this blog may recall that, over the years, the plays of Sam Shepard have held little appeal for me. For what ever reason, I seem to have little affinity for his sensibility. That being said, I must admit that Shepard often writes roles that are absolute catnip for actors. Such is the case with this play. Since it premiered in 1980, the roles of brothers Lee and Austin have been filled by high-powered actors like Tommy Lee Jones and Peter Boyle, Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, Bob Hoskins and Anthony Sher, and, in the much-praised 2000 Circle in the Square revival, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Reilly, who alternated roles. The current Roundabout production stars Ethan Hawke (Macbeth, The Coast of Utopia, “Boyhood”) as the charismatic rebel and sometime burglar Lee and Paul Dano (A Free Man of Color. “Love and Mercy”) as his younger brother, the buttoned-up married screenwriter Austin. As a fan of Hawke’s film career, I was driven by curiosity to see him despite my usual misgivings about Shepard. Hawke does not disappoint; his performance is high-energy and, at times, over the top. Dano, in the less showy role, comes into his own during the second act. When the play opens, Lee has turned up at his mother’s home in Southern California to find her away on vacation in Alaska and his brother Austin, whom he has not seen in five years, house-sitting for her. Austin has been struggling to close a film deal with producer Saul Kimmer (Gary Wilmes; If I Forget, Chinglish). When Lee butts into their meeting, he manages to talk Kimmer into a game of golf that leads to Kimmer’s decision to produce a Western based on Lee’s idea instead of Austin’s script. After a slow, mostly uneventful first act, mayhem ensues after intermission. There are some very funny scenes, many of which involve skillfully executed physical humor. The brothers reverse roles to an extent. A disillusioned Lee now finds Austin’s carefree life appealing. Their mother (Marylouise Burke (Fish in the Dark, Fuddy Mears), wasted in an underwritten role) arrives home unexpectedly to find a scene of utter chaos. The play ends on an ambiguous note. James Macdonald’s (The Children, Cloud Nine) direction is fine in many details but does not overcome the slow pace of the first act. Mimi Lien’s (The Lifespan of a Fact, Fairview) set recreates a kitchen and breakfast room befitting a middle-aged suburban lady. In what seems to have become a scenic cliche this season, the stage has an illuminated frame that lights up very brightly between scenes. Kaye Voyce’s (Significant Other, The Nap) costumes suit their characters well. While the play had its moments, it ultimately did not seem to have much point, at least to me. Perhaps I have OD’ed on dysfunctional families. Running time: two hours 15 minutes including intermission.

Mary Page Marlowe

C-

After the glowing reviews the Steppenwolf premiere of Tracy Letts’ play received two years ago, I arrived at Second Stage’s Terry Kiser Theater expecting an absorbing evening. Alas, something essential seems to have been lost en route from Chicago, because this production, directed by Lila Neugebauer (The Wolves), left me wondering what the fuss was about. The play is built around two gimmicks: the title character is played by six actors (and a doll) and the 11 scenes from her life are presented out of sequence. The six who play Mary Page, in ascending chronological order, are Mia Sinclair Jenness (Matllda), Emma Geer (How To Transcend a Happy Marriage), Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”), Susan Pourfar (Mary Jane), Kellie Overbey (The Coast of Utopia) and Blair Brown (The Parisian Woman). Her parents are played by Nick Dillenburg (The Real Thing) and Grace Gummer (Arcadia) and her children by Kayli Carter and Ryan Foust (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Audrey Corsa and Tess Frazer (This Property Is Condemned) play her high school friends. David Aaron Baker (Oblivion Postponed) and Brian Kerwin (August: Osage County) are two of her husbands and Gary Wilmes (Chinglish) is her amorous boss. Marcia DeBonis (Small Mouth Sounds) is her shrink, Maria Elena Ramirez (Fish in the Dark) is her nurse and Elliot Villar (War Horse) is her dry cleaner. The play begins with a scene in which she is 40 and moves backward and forward almost randomly as far back as her infancy and up to her final months. Unfortunately, dividing her character’s scenes among six actors does not make her life story six times as interesting. Nor do the six actors create a convincing unity, at least not for me. Instead, they seem motivated to make the most of their relatively brief stage time. Subordinating their performance to a larger picture does not seem to be a priority. Perhaps this shortcoming will be overcoming during previews. The fact that three of the Mary Pages look roughly the same age made it difficult at times to place scenes in the correct sequence. A few of the scenes rise above the deliberate banality of the others. At times I thought I was watching a piece commissioned to provide as many roles as possible for the members of a repertory company. It was only 85 minutes long, but it seemed longer. When it was finally over, I was left scratching my head trying to figure out what made the Chicago production a hit, while this one, to me at least, is a miss. Perhaps it was Anna D. Shapiro’s direction or Carrie Coon’s acting that made the difference. In any case, the magic is missing. Kaye Voyce’s (Shining City) costumes are apt but Laura Jellinek’s (Marvin’s Room) sleek, curvy bilevel set seems somehow inapropos. The best I can say is that I am happy so many actors are employed thanks to this production. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.

If I Forget

B

If the goal of Steven Levenson (The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, book for Dear Evan Hansen) was to write a play that would elicit lively discussion afterwards, his new play at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre is a success. While at its core an intimate family drama, the play connects the personal to a wider arena of religious, political, sociological and philosophical concerns. We meet the three Fischer siblings, all in their forties, in July 2000 at the family’s longtime home in a middle class Washington neighborhood. They are gathered to celebrate their recently widowed father’s 75th birthday. The middle child Michael (the superb Jeremy Shamos), although an atheist, is a professor of Jewish studies at a New York area university where he has just been recommended for tenure. He mentions in passing that he is faculty advisor to Students for Nader. He and his gentile wife Ellen (Tasha Lawrence) have an emotionally troubled college-age daughter Abby who is currently on a trip to Israel. Michael was opposed to letting her go because peace talks between Arabs and Israelis have just collapsed and he fears for her safety. Elder daughter Holly (the assured Kate Walsh from TV’s Private Practice), a dilettante who fancies herself an interior decorator, has a bratty teenage son Joey (Seth Steinberg) and a shallow but wealthy lawyer husband Howard (Gary Wilmes) who is Joey’s stepfather. The younger daughter Sharon (Renata Friedman, u/s for Maria Dizzia), an unmarried teacher, who has borne the brunt of caring for her late mother and her ailing father, never fails to remind her siblings of that fact. Sharon has recently broken up with her boyfriend after finding him in bed with the [female] cantor. We learn that Michael has just completed an incendiary book called Forget the Holocaust that suggests that American Jews should stop using the Holocaust as a reason to give Israel a free pass for some of its actions. (If you think it unlikely that a professor would publish a controversial book likely to damage his career while he is awaiting tenure, just google Norman Finkelstein.) Although Michael sent his father Lou (Larry Bryggman) a manuscript of his book to read six month ago, Lou has never said a word about it. In a moving scene near the end of the first act, Lou describes what it was like to liberate Dachau. The second act takes place six months later, not long after the Supreme Court has interceded to elect Bush. Lou has suffered a stroke. Michael’s book has had consequences. The family has gathered to decide what to do about Lou’s care. Lou’s only asset is his former clothing store, now leased to a Guatemalan family at a below-market rate. Sharon’s opposition to selling the store because it is the family legacy has another less noble motive. Holly’s plan to rent the store for her own nonexistent design practice is mysteriously not supported by her husband, who turns out to have an unsavory secret. Michael pushes hard to sell the store, betraying some confidences in the process. At play’s end Joey asks Michael about his cousin Abby’s condition. We learn that she had an experience in Jerusalem that was either transcendent or symptomatic of her worsening mental condition. The play shifts gears from naturalistic to expressionistic in its final scene, which didn't work for me. One can fault the play for being overstuffed; there’s enough plot for three plays. On the positive side, the play presents a compelling picture of family dynamics, fortunately relieved by frequent flashes of humor. It raises important questions about Jewish identity in America today that seem even more relevant in the light of recent headlines. The dialogue is sharp and the cast is excellent. Derek McLane’s revolving two-level set and Jess Goldstein’s costumes serve the play well. Daniel Sullivan (Proof, Rabbit Hole) directs with his usual skill. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes including intermission.