Downstate

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Once again Playwrights Horizons is presenting an important work by Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Norris (The Pain and the Itch, Clybourne Park, The Qualms), who reminds us why he is one of our most provocative playwrights. This time out, Norris tackles a thorny issue that gets little attention – our system for isolating sex offenders who have served their time but are placed on a registry that severely limits their life options, often forever. Because of residency restrictions designed to restrict their contact with children, they often end up in group homes in areas that don’t want them with neighbors who demonstrate their opposition by harassing them in a variety of ways, some violent. We meet four such men in a church-sponsored home in downstate Illinois. Fred (Francis Guinan), a seemingly kindly man in his seventies confined to a mobility scooter, is a former piano teacher who molested two young male students. Dee (K. Todd Freeman), a former dancer, had a two-year relationship with a 14-year-old Lost Boy in a touring version of Peter Pan. The religious Felix (Eddie Torres), who molested his young daughter, avoids the others and prays a lot. Gio (Glenn Davis), a younger man whose crime was “merely” statutory rape of a girl who lied about her age, is a Level One offender, whose name will be removed from the registry in a matter of months. He resents being thrown together with Level Three offenders whose registration will be permanent. Ivy (Susanna Guzman) is the tough overworked parole officer who checks on them weekly. On the day the action takes place, Fred is visited by Andy (Tim Hopper), one of the boys he molested 30 years ago, and Andy’s wife Em (Sally Murphy). Andy is there to confront Fred and get him to sign a document listing all his crimes against Andy, including one he denies. Their visit does not yield the results he wants. Ivy has bad news for the four – the local jurisdiction has expanded their no-go zone, which will eliminate access to their supermarket and bus stop. She has worse news for Felix, who has been caught going to the library and using the internet. We also meet Effie (Gabi Samels), Gio’s young co-worker at Staples, a character whose inclusion in the play seems unwarranted to me. Andy has conveniently left his cellphone behind, which gives him an excuse to return without his wife. The second meeting between Andy and Fred becomes explosive. In addition, there is a tragic development which I thought had been telegraphed rather clumsily. The play raises many uncomfortable questions about punishment, forgiveness and victimhood that we are left to ponder. The production’s greatest strength is the high level of the acting. The entire ensemble is outstanding. Todd Rosenthal’s set is appropriately grim and Clint Ramos’s costumes are apt. Pam MacKinnon, who has directed other Norris successes, seems to have a special affinity for his work. If you seek a thought-provoking evening, look no further. Running time: two hours 30 minutes including intermission.

Him **

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Being the daughter of a famous playwright must be a mixed blessing for Daisy Foote -- it probably opens doors, but it also sets expectations high. On the basis of her new play at Primary Stages, I think her achievement does not yet match her promise. An emotionally stunted father dying from a stroke is attended by his three adult children -- Pauline (Hallie Foote), still single in her 50s; Henry (Tim Hopper), a gay man in his late 40s who, bullied at college, returned home for keeps; and Farley (Adam LeFevre), the youngest, who is both obese and developmentally challenged. Ironically it is Farley who finds love in the form of a similarly challenged new neighbor, Louise (Adina Verson). The father has run his small-town New Hampshire general store into the ground and the family is barely surviving. Upon his death, the children find out that he secretly owned land that is now worth a fortune to developers. Pauline is driven by a need to become rich to show up the neighbors. When Henry discovers his father's journals revealing a love for the natural wonders of his property, he has second thoughts about developing it. One of the play's weaknesses is that every so often the action freezes and a spotlight shines on one of the actors who declaims a passage from the journals. This device grew stale very quickly. It also did not help that the characters' New England accent came and went. The strident monotone that Hallie Foote has chosen for her character grated on my ears after a while. Le Fevre and Verson grossly overact the behavior of a challenged person. Marion Williams' set recreates a slightly rundown kitchen of a particular time right down to the avocado appliances. Teresa Snider-Stein's costumes are fine. Evan Yionoulis directed. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes including intermission.