Fairview

B-

It is difficult to review Jackie Sibblies Drury’s provocative new play at Soho Rep for two reasons. First, to say very much about it without spoiling the experience is problematic. Secondly, as someone who is not African-American, my very right to comment is challenged by the play itself. Nevertheless, I will proceed. Upon arrival in the theater, we are greeted with a generic upper-middle-class living-dining room done in peachy cream walls, beige furniture, a light wood dining set and off-white carpeting. It could easily be the set of a family tv show, especially since it is completely surrounded by a black frame. One by one, we meet the members of the African-American Frazier family — Beverly (Heather Alicia Simms; Barbecue), the stressed-out hostess of a milestone birthday party for her mother, who is resting upstairs; Dayton (Charles Browning), her easygoing loving husband; Jasmine (Roslyn Ruff; All the Way, Familiar), Beverly’s acerbic sister; and Keisha (Mayaa Boateng), Beverly and Dayton’s daughter, a high-achieving high school senior with a vague feeling that something is holding her back. Beverly’s brother had also been expected for the party, but his flight has been delayed. Beverly is unhappy that Keisha’s friend Erica will be stopping by to drop off something for Keisha. The first third of the play progresses much like a retro sitcom of no racial specificity unless family members breaking out in dance frequently is supposed to suggest some racial proclivity. The first scene ends abruptly with a blackout. Now we are getting into “spoiler” territory. When the lights come up, an all-white stage crew is restoring the set to its original condition. When the actors reappear, the first scene is repeated except that we don’t hear the onstage actors. Instead we hear the conversation of four apparently white people who are discussing what race they would choose to be if they could change their race. Jimbo (Luke Robertson; Neva) is a bit of a bully. Suze (Hannah Cabell; The Father, The Moors) is offended by the question. Mack (Jed Resnick; Avenue Q), possibly gay, wants to be a black woman because of their fierceness. Bets (Natalia Payne; The Last Match), who has a European accent, deplores the American obsession with race. The device of the overlaid conversation is clever, but seeing the entire first scene again seems excessive. In the final third of the play, the previously unseen white characters join the others on stage, bringing their expectations with them. Some of the plot developments and the ensuing mayhem, while fun to watch, seem partially unearned. The play takes a final abrupt turn with one of the characters making a request of the white audience members. Apparently, at some performances, this has stimulated some lively interaction between actor and audience, but at my performance, there was no such interaction and less than half the people complied. It seemed a flat, disappointing ending for a provocative play. The cast is very good. Mimi Lien’s (An Octoroon) set and Montana Levi Bianco’s (In the Blood) costumes are spot on. Amith Chandrashaker’s (Cardinal) lighting is very effective. Ryan Courtney’s props are delightfully excessive. Raja Feather Kelly’s choroeography is a treat. Director Sarah Benson (An Octoroon, In the Blood) maintains a firm grip. To some extent, I feel the playwright lost control of her material. Nevertheless, I will be eager to see her next work. Running time: one hour 45 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 Father ***

The universally extravagant praise from across the pond for French playwright Florian Zeller’s unnerving portrait of a proud man’s descent into dementia set my expectations a bit too high. That is not to say that this Manhattan Theater Club production starring the magnificent Frank Langella is not worth seeing. Quite the contrary. I just felt that his performance was better than the material. Zeller cleverly presents things from the confused point of view of the person with dementia. Andre (Langella), a retired engineer, has once again driven away a caregiver that his daughter Anne (a fine Kathryn Erbe) has hired to help him cope with his increasingly confused state. The audience is forced to feel Andre’s disorientation as we are presented with conflicting sets of facts and even different actors playing the same roles. Anne is either divorced, married to Pierre (Brian Avers) or moving to London with her new lover. Laura (Hannah Cabell), a prospective caregiver, reminds Andre of his mysteriously absent daughter Elise whom he always favored over Anne. Charles Borland (Man) and Kathleen McNenny (Woman) round out the good cast. There’s more than a touch of Pinter lurking here. Even Scott Pask’s set reflects Andre’s confusion as objects disappear from the elegant Parisian apartment between scenes. Catherine Zuber’s costumes are fine. Doug Hughes’s direction is assured. Multiple short scenes are punctuated by flashing lights around the proscenium and loud strings, which becomes tiresome rather quickly. Go for the bravura performance by Langella and you won’t be disappointed. The audience reaction varied widely. The man next to me abruptly left midway through the play. The woman behind me was weeping softly. Running time: 90 minutes; no intermission.