Simon Stephen’s new
play, On the Shore of the Wide World,
at the Atlantic Theater, rumbles up behind you slowly, over a series of short
scenes. The play investigates three generations of the Holmes family, from a
small town near Manchester England, by charting the relationship of the youngest
generations’ Alex and his girlfriend Sarah.
Alex and Sarah seem
an odd pair at first; he is a bit socially awkward around girls and she is a
dynamo. Ben Rosenfield plays Alex, charting the characters growth over the
course of the show from teenager to young man emotionally. Tedra Millan is
wonderful as Sarah, barely changing her character in any obvious way over the
course of the play, yet deepening Sarah at every step. Wesley Zurick is quite
brilliant as the younger brother Christopher. Alex introduces Sarah to the family, his
father Peter (C.J. Wilson) and mother Alice (Mary McCann) in addition to
brother Christopher.
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| C. J. Wilson, Tedra Millan, Ben Rosenfield and May McCann (photo from Atlantic Theater Group) |
The parents have fallen
into a rut and the excitement of their son’s new love is both scary and
frustrating. Their emotional drifting deepens as Alex’s relationship’s growth
and they watch a repeat of their love, but now detached. Both long for that
first rush of love, but can’t fully put it into words. Medical issues in the
family make inevitable conflicts more urgent.
Bonnie Blair and
Peter Maloney, two excellent actors, play the grandparents. If Peter and Alice
recognize themselves at a different age in their son’s life, the grandparents
are beyond even that. Their relationship has atrophied into habit and entropy.
Alex and Sarah set
out for the wild world (London) and trigger introspection by the rest of the
family, who have all settled into a pre-ordained life. Peter ends up having discussions,
the ones he should have with his wife, with a young client. Alice finds emotional
comfort from a man she hardly knows. A medical issue forces the grandfather to
confront his own life and shortcomings.
On the Shore of the Wide World makes an interesting argument very
subtly. That is, relationships follow a path, and we have to remember to not
let that path become a rut. Peter and Alice struggle to change their family for
the better, even when quite frustrated. Their inability to communicate is, at
times, infuriating, but recognizable. Director Neil Pepe does a deft job of
handling the multiple scenes without confusion or noise, letting the actors
dominate a busy play.
On the Shore of the Wide World | Playwright: Simon Stephens
| Director: Neil Pepe | Cast: Blair Brown, Odiseas Georgiadis, Peter
Maloney, Mary McCann, LeRoy McClain, Tedra Millan, Ben Rosenfield, C. J.
Wilson, Amelia Workman, Wesley Zurick | website
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