Something Clean

B

Roundabout Underground, the company’s new play initiative housed in the Black Box Theatre below the Laura Pels, fills the important function of introducing New Yorkers to new playwrights. Roundabout’s acute eye for new talent has launched the careers of Stephen Karam, Steven Levenson, Lindsey Ferrentino and Joshua Harmon, among others. Their latest offering is this absorbing three-actor drama by Selina Fillinger that examines the fallout of a sexual assault from an unusual vantage point, that of the perpetrator’s parents. Charlotte and Doug are a suburban couple whose college son Kai is currently in prison for a campus rape he committed while drunk. The leniency of his six-month sentence led to protests and brought unwanted notoriety into their comfortable lives. Doug (Daniel Jenkins; Oslo, Kid Victory) has taken refuge in his work. When we meet Charlotte (Kathryn Erbe; The Father, Checkers), she has presented herself as a would-be volunteer at an urban sexual assault center headed by a young gay black man, Joey (Christopher Livingston; Party People, Peerless). In a rather heavy-handed metaphor, she tells Joey that she is good at cleaning, particularly at removing stains. She hides her real identity and motivation from Joey and conceals her volunteer work from Doug. Over the next few months, the relationship between Charlotte and Doug grows increasingly distant while a friendship blossoms between Charlotte and Joey. Charlotte’s attempts to relieve her sense of guilt also include implausible late-night visits to a campus alley where she whips out her rubber gloves to tidy up the dumpsters. While there she meets a campus cop played by Jenkins and a drunk frat boy played by Livingston. The play, which rapidly alternates scenes between Charlotte and either Doug or Joey, leads to an inevitable climax when the three meet and Charlotte’s subterfuge is exposed. The acting is consistently strong, with Kathryn Erbe’s performance being especially powerful. Reid Thompson’s (Too Heavy for Your Pocket) set design locates the bedroom and part of the kitchen of the couple’s suburban home at one end of the rectangular stage with one wall of the assault center at the other end; the large table in the center is used to represent both places. The size of theater and the division of the audience into two facing sides increase the sense of intimacy. Valerie Therese Bart’s (Too Heavy for Your Pocket) costumes befit the characters well. Margot Bordelon’s (Do You Feel Anger?, Too Heavy for Your Pocket) direction is fluid and unfussy. While the plot has a few weak spots, the play is consistently absorbing and my overall reaction is quite positive. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.

Bobbie Clearly

C

Clearly may be the title character’s last name, but it is hardly a description of the manner in which he is portrayed. As a 14-year-old in rural Nebraska, he murders a girl named Casey in a cornfield for no apparent reason. If you expect to discover his motivation, you will be disappointed. The play traces the impact of his senseless act on ten residents of his hometown, Milton, Nebraska (pop. 750) over a period of about 15 years. They include Darla London (Constance Shulman; Barbecue), the town’s sole police officer, who narrates most of the story; Casey’s parents, Jane (Crystal Finn; Kingdom Come) and Stanley Welch (Christopher Innvar; The Snow Geese); Casey's brother Eddie (Tyler Lea; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), who witnessed the murder; two friends, Megan (Talene Monahon; The Government Inspector) and Meghan (Sasha Diamond; Significant Other), who are friendly rivals; Derek (JD Taylor), a shallow guy who gets by on his good looks; Russ (Marcus Ho; The Last Match). a very close friend of Jane’s; and two townies Pete (Gabriel Brown; The City of Conversation) and Mitch (Brian Quijada; My Mañana Comes). Each deals with the tragedy in a different way ranging from hatred to stoic acceptance to forgiveness. Two years after the murder, the Welches set up a foundation in Casey’s honor and initiate an annual talent show to raise funds. After ten years, Bobbie Clearly (Ethan Dubin; Rancho Viejo) is released from prison. His return to Milton stirs up many passions, which are exacerbated when he decides to enter the talent show. I think playwright Alex Lubitscher was aiming for a portrayal of small-town life in the vein of “Our Town” rather than a portrait of Bobbie. The performances from the talent show are more entertaining than relevant. Watching a hunter eviscerate a deer was just nasty. The quality of the acting varies widely. There are a few scenes that totally engage our rapt attention. While I admire the playwright’s ambition and raw talent, I do not feel that he was able to maintain firm control over his material. The tone wobbles from moment to moment. Roundabout Underground has mounted a lavish production. The set design by Arnulfo Maldonado (Indecent, Charm) covers all four walls of the auditorium with husked and detasseled ears of corn behind chicken wire. The audience is seated on three sides on folding chairs stenciled with “Milton Comm. Center.” Director Will Davis (Charm) keeps things moving along smoothly. While I would not call it a success, I am not sorry that I saw it. Running time: two hours 20 minutes including two intermissions.

Too Heavy for Your Pocket

B-

Roundabout Underground is presenting this flawed but interesting work by promising young playwright Jiréh Breon Holder. It is set in a poor rural black enclave of Nashville in 1961. We meet two young couples who have a very close friendship. The husbands have been best friends since they were ten and the wives are almost like sisters. Sally-Mae Carter (Nneka Okafor; Our Lady of Kibeho), about to graduate from beauty school, is pregnant. Her husband Tony (Hampton Fluker) has a past that includes philandering and gambling, but has been stirred by impending fatherhood to become a better man. Evelyn Bardon (Eboni Flowers) is a nightclub singer. Her husband Bowzie (Brandon Gill; Bella), intelligent but aimless, has just been accepted to Fisk University. Evelyn and Bowzie seem to be a most unlikely couple. During the long first act, we get to know the characters and the underlying problems in each marriage. When Bowzie decides to quit college and become a Freedom Rider, his decision puts a strain on all their relationships. The second act, while more dramatic, was also more disjointed. Some of the developments seemed forced and others seemed unlikely. The ending is rather flat. If you don’t already know about the Freedom Riders, you won’t get much background here. The actors are strong and quite plausible in their roles. Ms. Flowers has a lovely voice. The set by Reid Thompson (A Delicate Ship) features walls of wooden slats all around the theater and, for reasons I did not grasp, a grass floor throughout. The costumes by Valérie Thérèse Bart (Vanity Fair) are apt. Director Margot Bordelon (A Delicate Ship) would do well to tighten up the first act. All in all, it was a worthwhile but not wholly satisfactory experience. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

On the Exhale

B

Marin Ireland (Ironbound, reasons to be pretty), one of our most talented stage actors, seems incapable of giving a less than compelling performance. In this dark drama by Martin Zimmerman now at Roundabout Underground’s Black Box Theatre, she plays a professor in a “concealed carry” state, who is morbidly afraid that some male student, unhappy with a grade, might settle his grievance with a gun. As a single mother, her main fear is that no one would be there to raise her only child. When a gunman does strike, it is not at the university, but at her son’s elementary school. Her son is one of the victims. She deals with her grief in quite unexpected ways. While the acting is impeccable, the material seemed a bit formulaic. During the last 15 minutes, the play took what I felt was a wrong turn that undermined some of its force. The set design by Rachel Hauck is minimal in the extreme — a platform with a black wall behind it. Emily Rehbolz’s costume does not call attention to itself. The lighting by Jen Schriever very effectively enhances the production. Leigh Silverman’s (Violet, Chinglish) unfussy direction is assured. It’s only an hour long, but it’s a very intense hour.

Kingdom Come ** C-

Jenny Rachel Weiner’s romantic comedy with poignant overtones is the latest offering at Roundabout Underground’s Black Box Theatre. Somewhat like LCT3, this program offers first-rate productions of works by emerging playwrights at affordable prices. Looking around at the audience, Roundabout seems to be more successful than LCT3 in drawing a younger audience. If you saw “Catfish,” you have an idea of the plot, except that in this instance both people are using deceitful online profiles. The twist is that they genuinely fall for each other. How the situation is resolved isn’t quite what you may expect. The characters are Samantha (Carmen M. Herlihy), a morbidly obese woman who rarely leaves her bed; Dolores (Socorro Santiago), Samantha’s home health aide; Dolores’s studly son Dominick (Alex Hernandez), an actor/busboy in L.A.; Layne (Crystal Finn), a repressed lonely bookkeeper; and Suz (Stephanie Styles), Layne’s younger, prettier, less inhibited coworker. Deceit breeds complications. The personable actors all make the most of their roles. There are some funny moments and clever twists along the way, but the material seemed thin and a bit forced. The set by Arnulfo Maldonado is simple but attractive. Tilly Grimes’s costumes are apt. Kip Fagan’s direction is smooth. Most of the audience reacted enthusiastically. For me, it was one online dating story too many. Running time: one hour 40 minutes, no intermission.

Ugly Lies the Bone ***

With this new play by Lindsey Ferrentino, now at the Black Box Theatre, Roundabout Underground continues its commitment to presenting emerging young playwrights, an effort that has previously paid off with playwrights Stephen Karam and Joshua Harmon. Jess (Mamie Gummer), a soldier badly burned by an IED in Afghanistan, has just returned to her small town on Florida’s Space Coast after a year and a half in a military hospital. She is a participant in an experimental study of virtual reality as a non-drug pain management treatment. Caitlin O’Connell plays the unseen experimenter. Jess shares the family home with her sister Kacie (Karron Graves), a schoolteacher. Their mother has been institutionalized for reasons unspecified. Katie has a dodgy boyfriend Kelvin (Haynes Thigpen) whom she met online. We also meet Jess’s former boyfriend Stevie (Chris Stack), now married and clerking at a convenience store, and eventually learn the reasons for their breakup. Just as Jess has suffered grievous injuries, the town has been devastated by mass layoffs when the shuttle program ended. We follow Jess’s struggles to find a way forward with her life. The cast is mostly strong, especially Gummer. Thigpen's approach to his character, particularly in his early scenes, is too broad. Tim Brown’s set looks lived in and authentic. Dede M. Ayite’s costumes are spot-on. The prosthetics designed and created by Vincent T. Schicchi and Thomas Denier Jr. are convincing.The projections by Caite Hevner Kemp are effective. Patricia McGregor’s direction has a few bumpy spots. I would call the play a diamond in the rough. Running time: 75 minutes, no intermission.

Too Much, Too Much, Too Many ***

Meghan Kennedy's new work is the latest offering at Roundabout Underground's Black Box Theatre, their "launching pad for emergent playwrights." In 22 short, concentrated scenes, Kennedy depicts some of the ways people deal with grief and loss. The four characters are Emma (Rebecca Henderson), a depressed 39-year-old single woman who has lost her father James (James Rebhorn) to Alzheimer's, her grieving mother Rose (Phyllis Somerville) who has locked herself in her room for almost a year, and the enigmatic Pastor Hidge (Luke Kirby) who has been sent by the local church to offer comfort. The actors rise to the challenge of performing with people they cannot see because of an intervening door. It's a pleasure to see two old pros like Rebhorn (Homeland) and Somerville (The Big C) onstage. Rebhorn's portrayal of the descent into dementia is heartbreaking. The younger actors are also fine and the production is first-rate. The set by Wilson Chin looks wonderfully lived in. Jess Goldstein's costumes, Zach Blane's lighting design and the sound design by Broken Chord all greatly enhance the production. Sheryl Kaller's direction is sure and steady. Despite some misgivings about the script, I found the play worthwhile. I do wish they had found a more appealing title though! Running time: 70 minutes, no intermission.

Bad Jews ***

Roundabout Underground, now in its 6th year as a home for emerging playwrights, has an impressive track record for discovering new talent like Stephen Karam (Speech and Debate, Sons of the Prophet). Whether Joshua Harmon, author of this world premiere production, will also go on to greater things remains to be seen. In Bad Jews, three grandchildren of a just-deceased patriarch are forced to share an apartment overnight. Liam Haber (Michael Zegen), a graduate student in Japanese studies, has nothing but disdain for organized religion. He has missed the funeral because he was skiing in Aspen with his shiksa girlfriend Melody (Molly Ranson, recently seen as Carrie). His younger brother Jonah (Philip Ettinger) is a severely withdrawn college student, who only wants to play video games and avoid conflict. Last but certainly not least is the brothers' cousin Daphna (formerly Diane) Feygenbaum (Tracee Chimo, recently seen in Harvey), soon to graduate Vassar and then join her alleged boyfriend in Israel. Daphna is an unattractive, relentlessly abrasive, holier-than-thou, self-centered, covetous, domineering, hyperactive, logorrheic termagant. The role is an actress's dream: it probably is not true, but it seems that she has more dialog than the other three actors combined. Liam and Daphna passionately detest each other; their conflict over which one should receive their grandfather's chai necklace is the main focus. The play has many shortcomings, but it does have a lot of vitality. Daniel Aukin's direction is assured. Lauren Helpern's set and Dane Laffrey's costumes are fine. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes without intermission.

Suicide, Incorporated ***

Andrew Hinderaker's interesting but flawed new play is the latest offering at the Black Box, the tiny theater below the Laura Pels where Roundabout Underground presents work by young, emerging playwrights for a mere $20. In it, we are asked to imagine the existence of Legacy Letters, a company that writes farewell notes for prospective suicides. Scott, the soulless boss straight out of Mamet (Toby Leonard Moore), sadistically mistreats his sole employee Perry (Corey Hawkins). Jason (Gabriel Ebert, who made such a fine impression last year in 4000 Miles) applies for a writing job, but has hidden motives which might have something to do with his younger brother Tommy (Jake O'Connor). His first client is the sad sack Norm (the excellent James McMenamin), whose tale is truly wrenching. Mike DiSalvo has a tiny role as a police officer. The simple set by Daniel Zimmerman transforms from a sterile office to Jason's home with the movement of a few panels and a lot of furniture shlepping back and forth by the actors. Jessica Wegener Shay's costumes fit the characters like a glove. Jonathan Berry's direction is unobtrusive. The play may drift from black comedy to melodrama, but it is sufficiently promising to make Hinderaker a talent to watch. Running time: 85 minutes without intermission. General admission.