Make Believe

A-

Bess Wohl (Small Mouth Sounds, Continuity), one of our most promising young playwrights, is in top form with this bracing new work about a dysfunctional family, now at Second Stage Theater. Wohl bravely entrusts the first half of the play to child actors who play the Conlee family’s four children—Chris (Ryan Foust; Mary Page Marlowe), age 12; Kate (Maren Heary), age 10; Addie (Casey Hilton), age 7; and Carl (Harrison Fox), age 5. When we meet them, they are at play in the enormous playroom that takes up most of the attic of their suburban home. Their usual after-school snacks are missing and their mother is inexplicably absent. As their father is away on business, they find themselves unexpectedly on their own. They have been instructed never to answer the phone, but they learn from a series of voice messages that they avidly listen to through the floorboards that their mother has not shown up for her beauty salon appointment or her book club. As they play house to pass the time, they reveal their understanding of their parents’ toxic marriage. Chris alternates between bully and protector, at one point showing up with two bags of food and a six-pack of beer that he has mysteriously acquired. Kate fantasizes that Princess Grace is her real mother. Addie lavishes attention on her Cabbage Patch doll. Carl contentedly plays the family dog. Eventually we see them all dressed up to leave with their father for an unknown occasion. The action smoothly shifts about 30 years forward when four adults—Kate (Samantha Mathis; 33 Variations, Nomad Motel), Addie (Susannah Flood; Love and Information, Tribes), Carl (Brad Heberlee; A Life, Small Mouth Sounds) and Chris (Kim Fischer; Then She Fell)—are gathered for a funeral. In an extended scene we observe how their adult versions relate to their childhood. We get a clearer understanding of what actually happened before and a few surprises about one of the siblings. We see how each person deals with loss, which, in one case, is extremely moving. I will say no more because I don’t want to spoil the experience. Wohl skillfully knits together the story with humor, suspense and sympathy. There are a few missteps; a close analysis would turn up some holes in the plot, but while you are watching, it is completely absorbing and affecting. The actors, both children and adults, are uniformly strong. The production values are top-notch. The playroom designed by David Zinn (Choir Boy, Torch Song) is inviting and the costumes by Emilio Sosa (On Your Feet!, The Light) are apt. The lighting design by Ben Stanton and sound design by Bray Poor make substantial contributions. Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Parallelogram) negotiates the play’s rapid shifts and moods skillfully. It is by far the most interesting play I have seen this summer. Running time: 85 minutes; no intermission.

Nomad Motel

C-

The New York premiere of this well-meaning but muddled drama by Carla Ching (Fast Company) is the current attraction at Atlantic Theatre Company’s Stage 2. Two intelligent high school seniors in Anaheim, CA — Alix (Molly Griggs; Linda), an American girl with a feckless single mother, and Mason (Christopher Larkin), a boy from Hong Kong with an absent widowed father — are paired by a high school teacher to work on a joint project. Alix’s mother Fiona (Samantha Mathis; American Psycho, Affluenza), an unemployed actress, has lost the family home and furtively moves Alix and her two unseen young brothers from one motel to another when she can’t come up with the rent. Alix’s salary as a waitress at a taco joint is the family’s only income. She longs to escape by getting into Pratt and becoming a landscape architect. Mason’s mysterious father James (Andrew Pang; Kafka on the Shore), apparently an enforcer for a crime syndicate, set Mason up in a home in Anaheim four years ago to benefit from an American education and get into a top university to study economics to become a hedge fund manager. He tries to keep tight control over his son even though absent, but cuts off his financial support and disappears after Mason is disrespectful during a phone call. The lonely, socially awkward Mason loves music and only wants to become a musician. Lest we somehow not grasp that Mason is sensitive, we learn that he is caring for an injured bird he rescued. When Fiona takes off again, leaving Alix on her own, Alix is forced to move in with Oscar (Ian Duff; Dutch Masters), an African-American ex-boyfriend who is still carrying the torch for her. When she doesn’t reciprocate, he kicks her out and, in desperation, she moves in with Mason. The plight of being undocumented or black is mentioned in passing; we learn that both Mason and Oscar have been victims of overzealous policing. The two parents eventually meet and commiserate over the sorrows of parenthood. There is also a ridiculous sword fight. The playwright touches many bases but does not dig deeply enough. The two central characters come across as less interesting to watch than their dysfunctional parents. The monochromatic gray set by Yu-Hsuan Chen (Inanimate), tasked to represent a series of motel rooms, Mason’s house and an abandoned convenience store, is not very helpful in establishing each setting. The costumes by Loren Shaw (Sojourners and Her Portmanteau) do not distract. The direction by Ed Sylvanus Iskander (Sojourners and Her Portmanteau, The Mysteries) has its awkward moments such as when two characters are forced to sit quietly during a long scene not involving them. All in all, it came across as a missed opportunity to adequately address several timely issues. Running time: two hours 15 minutes including intermission. NOTE: Avoid seats in Row A; it is not elevated above Row AA, so your view may be blocked.