Navigating a Minefield of Love and Loss

Teenagers in Love is playing at the intimate The Chain Theater in midtown. It is a surprisingly big play in the space. The emotions displayed by the talented cast are alternately exuberant and restrained, often filling the space and other times drawing us into the tight and ridged confines both physically and mentally.

Teenagers in Love is the story of Harp and Becca, teenagers then and adults now. As teenagers about to graduate from High School in New Jersey they were open free and wild – ready for the adventure of adult life. As adults, Harp and Becca are tentative, reaching out to rediscover the past and each other after 45 years of estrangement.

The play opens with Harp and Becca (Wayne Maugans and Renata Hinrichs) sitting uncomfortably at Harp’s plain table. Both the house and Harp are run down and tired. Becca is unsettled by the changes and trajectory that Harp’s life has taken. Becca is a nice middle-class woman who can’t explain her anxiety despite the obvious waves of anger, sadness, and fondness.

Renata Hinrichs, Ziggy Schulting, Jack Rasmussen, Wayne Maugans (photo: Ross Roland)

Their meandering banter and thoughts of their lost youth dissolve into the story of their graduation night. 

We are transported back to 1971 in the local bar where Harp and Becca (here Jack Rasmussen and Ziggy Schulting) bask in the warmth of friends and freedom from school. The group of friends include a young Black man, Ben (Jacobi Hall), Ben’s girlfriend Bonnie (Kaitlyn Mitchell) and occasionally Becca’s brother Donnie (Alexander Chilton). Together they laugh, drink, boast, sing, and drink, all watched over by Gladys (Jackie Maruschak) the mother hen bartender. Gladys has seen this before. Every year students graduate, promising to stay friends and come back to visit. But Gladys knows the truth, lacing a tinge of melancholy over the proceedings. They might come back for holidays every two or three years before disappearing into their new lives. But here and now, in 1971 Harp and Becca are loudly in love. Harp and Ben’s friendship is deep, and life spreads out before them all like an all you can eat buffet. 

Teenagers in Love Cast (photo: Ross Roland)

Returning to the present, Harp and Becca bond over the past they thought they forgot, but it comes back in fits and starts. Not just the intimacy and love, but pain as well. On that night in 1971, Becca’s brother Donnie died, falling off a cliff in the Palisades.

Harp was arrest for pushing and killing Donnie. Although Harp was acquitted of the crime, Becca still has doubts. She has returned to this place to let Harp know that new tests have been created to check Donnie’s hoodie for blood, and Harp’s blood was found. Becca wants to warn Harp that he would be subpoenaed soon to give testimony. Harp’s emotions run from sadness to anger. He was already acquitted 46 years ago, why now?

The story of Teenagers in Love is the story solving that night. Understanding the forces that swept them apart and led them into such different paths. Both Harp and Ben had scholarships to good schools, Becca had plans for Rutgers and beyond, but it seems nothing worked out as planned. Death, anger, and pain are too strong to be stopped, only delayed.

Sean O’Connor wrote Teenagers in Love pulling from his own remembrances of being young and in love with life. The power of those emotions is seductive in the play, touching our memories as well. Director Debra Whitfield does great work in keeping the story at the front through changes in setting, time, and tone. She and the cast make the transitions effortless and lets the actors work shine effortlessly.

Teenagers in Love is not a perfect play. There are many moving parts and one or two don’t always fit exactly rightr. But small missteps do not detract from the great acting, the transport back to the 1970s and the feelings of nostalgia and warmth which that acting brings to us. The player share with the audience that warmth and humor of their stories, tempered by sadness at the roads not taken.

Teenagers in Love

Playwright: Sean O'Connor | Director: Debra Winfield | Cast: Alexander Chilton, Jeff Woods Carlin, Jacobi Hall, Renata Hinrichs, Jackie Maurschak, Wayne Maugans, Kaitlyn Mitchell, Jack Rasmussen, Ziggy Schulting

TEENAGERS IN LOVE runs June 2 - 17 with performances Monday & Wednesday - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm. Running time is 90 minutes. The Chain Theatre is located at 312 W 36th Street between 8th & 9th Avenues, New York, NY 10018. Tickets are $28 at www.TicketLeap.com.

Fat Ham drops us into a southern family by way of Stratford (on-Avon)

Hamlet is a beautiful, long, and well-loved Shakespearian play set in the cold regal world of medieval Denmark. It’s spiritual cousin, Fat Ham, is quick moving, funny and touching play set in the middle class Black south. The parallels between the two are both subtle and obvious. Luckily for the audience, the differences abound with humor and current day problems.

For those of us that barely remember the plot of Hamlet, fear not. Fat Ham is easy to follow, basks in the sunlight keeping the best of the story but you do not need any knowledge of Hamlet to enjoy this. Like Hamlet, our hero Juicy (Marcel Spears) is thwarted and emasculated by his uncle, who quickly marries Juicy's mother after his father’s death. His mother (Nikki Crawford, now with a well earned Tony nomination) also makes the choice to marry his uncle, now stepfather. But in Fat Ham her reasons are clear and self-aware. Juicy's stepfather Rev (an overwhelming Billy Eugene Jones) is Rev, a preacher and a masculine bully that sees Juicy as a soft momma’s boy. A person he should shape into a “real” man, not a unique individual.

Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Calvin Leon Smith, Benja Kay Thomas, Adriana Mitchell and Marcel Spears

Juicy’s obvious gayness is just another reason for the Rev to torment him. A friction made worse by his mother’s desire to appease her new husband, often at the expense of her son.

Doesn’t sound like a comedy, but Fat Ham is definitely that. His best friend Tio (Chris Herbie Holland) is a go with the flow young man, who doesn’t understand Juicy’s reluctance to conform. Although Tio does admire Juicy for his strength. Tio floats along through life on a cloud of video games, pot, and a unchallenged life but is still preferred by Rev to Juicy.

Juicy’s emotional relief comes from his cousins Opal (Adrianna Mitchell) and Larry (Calvin Leon Smith). Opal is an obvious lesbian, yet it goes unremarked by the family. A denial maintained to paper over the family’s condemnation. Larry is a Marine on leave, coming to his aunt’s house to enjoy the bar-be-que and family. Opal works hard to be the support and outlet Juicy needs. Larry arrives a different man from the Marines. A role model of the family who carries doubts he doesn’t express.

Unlike Hamlet, there are no physical deaths in Fat Ham, but emotional rebirths instead. Juicy doesn’t descend into the depths of despair, but into the confusion and frustration of a child left out of a new family.

Marcel Spears brings to Juicy a multitude of emotions including joy, love, and anger. His mother has chosen her life and strives hard to keep Juicy in it. But Juicy won’t conform to meet the expectations of the new family. He will not be quiet and accepting. Even when he tries to accommodate his family to this new situation, he is belittled and bullied by the Rev, his stepfather.

Juicy uses humor to armor himself, even though it is not enough. Ultimately Juicy chooses not to remake himself into the Rev’s idea of manhood. He makes his own path, albeit in fits and starts. His definition of masculinity is based on honesty and self-acceptance. This determination gives this power to his cousin’s Opal and Larry. 

Fat Ham is funny and life affirming in a way Hamlet never was. Watch it.

Nikki Crawford, Marcel Spears, Billy Eugene Jones

A long-awaited return of God of Carnage

God of Carnage is a play about the perils of modern relationships in an age of unique issues coupled with old problems. Although it is ostensibly about 2 sets of parents who are meeting due to their children’s fight, it dissolves into something more nuanced and a lot louder. Arguments and disagreements pop up between the married couples, between men and women, and between expectations of acceptable behavior.

The four leads are excellent: David Burtka, Carey Cox, Gabe Fazio and Christina Noll. Carey Cox in particular sneaks up on you with a performance that is seemingly nervous and mousey until she explodes later in the play. The women have the meatier roles here and they relish them, Christiana Noll in particular.

Gabe Fazio, Cary Cox, David Burtka and Christiana Noll
with subtitles projected on the back wall.

The story follows Alan and Annette (Burtka and Cox) as they visit with Michael and Veronica (Fazio and Noll). Alan and Annette’s son Benjamin struck Michael and Veronica’s son Henry with a stick. Benjamin broke two of Henry’s teeth and the parents are trying to resolve the situation in an inclusive manner. All 4 are yuppie parents with prestigious jobs, except Michael, who is a self-made wholesaler of kitchen goods. Veronica takes the lead in trying to resolve the issue of the boy’s fight, dominating the early going.

A solution appears easy, until Veronica insists that Benjamin apologize for hitting Henry. This goes well, until Veronica demands not just an apology, but a sincere apology from Benjamin. When Alan and Annette explain that Benjamin thinks he was justified by the actions of Henry. Alan agrees that there may be blame on both sides, much to Veronica’s annoyance.  Worse, her husband Michael seems to agree with Alan. 

As the situation continues, a shifting set of relationships dominate different moments. At times the men agree with each other as the women do the same. At times the couples agree within their marriages. And then it all changes again. The adults in God of Carnage act like children fighting between each other, complete with shifting allegiances and inexplicable outbursts.

There are problems with God Of Carnage that this production cannot fix. The play starts slowly, builds over time, and then just ends. Perhaps this is an analogy for the unfinished business of being human, but it still is unsatisfying.

The play is produced as part of The Breaking Trough Barriers theater group. TBTB is an off-Broadway theater company that is dedicated to advancing the work of professional artists with disabilities. One extremely affecting part of their presentation is the use of subtitles for the hearing impaired. These are projected on the back wall which is made up of uneven bright red rectangles. It is a great job, but it takes a little getting used to for people who are not hearing impaired. 

Written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, God Of Carnage is still fresh even though it premiered on Broadway 14 years ago. Director Nicholas Viselli has brought an excellent production team and actors back to for this play off-Broadway. It is a story that is universal, updated to be more accessible.

God of Carnage

Playwright: Yasmina Reza (translation Christopher Hampton) | Director: Nicholas Viselli | Cast: David Burtka, Cary Cox, Gabe Fazio, Christiane Noll
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You can’t look away from Jodie Comer in Prima Facie

Prima Facie may be used as an adjective meaning "sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption unless disproved or rebutted." In the play Prima Facie that describes the way Lawyer Tessa wins or losses in law - and she nearly always wins. Jody Comer is Tessa in this one hander, and she is astounding in her Broadway debut.

Prima Facie works so well because Jodie Comer is a dynamo. She jumps enthusiastically. She moves tables and pull volumes off the shelves manically as she explains her profession and how much she loves it. She can disassemble the testimony of victims of sexual assault to get her clients off. And to Tessa this is not complicated. Her job is to defend clients and she is good at it. Great at it. She believes in the law and believes every defendant deserves an active defense. Tessa does sound a bit defensive about this, although she actively ignores the consequences.

Jodie Comer in Prima Facie

Tessa hails from Liverpool and has no desire to return. She has a disassociated relationship with her family and her hometown. She doesn’t want to belong to either. Tessa justifies her singleminded focus to become a lawyer and how she had to fight to be accepted. As a woman from a lower-class background, Tessa must struggle against stereotypes and richer classmates in order to succeed. And now that Tessa has succeeded, she savors it.

After a great success in the courtroom, followed by drinking at a local bar, she goes back to the chambers with another lawyer. He is a man from the same firm, and they proceed to flirt and then have great sex. They go out again a few nights later. After more than a few drinks, she invites him to the her house where they screw again - making love is not the right word for the relationship they have. The night of drinking and sex ends up where it often does for us mortals, head over the toilet, puking her guts out. Her date helps her through this and then carries her to bed. Where he proceeds to try to make love again, which Tessa objects to. But he forces himself on her. 

It is date rape clearly and she struggles with how to react. After weighing the effect of her next actions, she must choose between ignoring this or pressing charges against a man she willingly slept with, twice. Ultimately, she presses charges and the case goes to trial. Tessa naively believes in the integrity of the system and knows she will win the case, because the rape obviously happened.

But she doesn’t win. In fact, the very tactics she has used against accusers is used against her. And, although Tessa knows what is happening, she cannot help but to fall into the same traps she expounded on earlier. Tessa responds the turnabout with outrage. Anger at the system she has used for so long. And anger directed at the defense by using law and doubt to thwart justice.

Jodie Comer truly brings out Tessa’s disappointment and heartbreak in the role. Tessa the lawyer shrinks as she becomes Tessa the victim. To visually underline this change, the creative team uses lighting and the noise of a nervous heartbeat to effectively bring more than just her voice to the fore. Not just does Tessa’s demeanor change, her visage changes as time progresses. Her blond hair, free and full early moves to a wet brown pulled into a tight bun mimicking her journey into self-doubt and insecurity. It is fantastic.

Having sung her praises, I must say last few minutes of the Prima Facie drag. Tessa goes on a rant that essentially covers in words what happened to her on stage. It is an unnecessary coda to a near perfect show.

Prima Facie

Playwright: Suzie Miller | Director: Justin Martin | Set and Costume Design: Miriam Buether | Cast: Jodie Comer

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Sean Hayes Amazes in Good Night, Oscar

Even those who have witnessed Sean Hayes on Broadway being hilarious (Act of God) and singing with Kristen Chenoweth (Promises, Promises) will be blown away by his performance in Good Night, Oscar. His performance as Oscar Levant is incredible, but it is a last scene performance as Oscar Levant at the piano that surprises and stuns in the best possible way.

Good Night, Oscar tells the story of one of Oscar’s performances on TV’s “Tonight starring Jack Paar.” Oscar Levant was a composer, pianist, actor and a regular guest on Jack Paar. He was admired by both New Yorkers and Jack Paar for his quick wit and cutting comments on this live program. Good Night, Oscar reprises one of the those TV shows.

Ben Rappaport & Sean Hayes ( PHOTO BY LIZ LAUREN)

The story opens with Bob Sarnoff (Peter Grosz), head of NBC, discussing with Jack Paar (Ben Rappaport) this evening's performance. Jack Paar is in Los Angeles for sweeps week, and he made a deal with the network to feature anyone he wants. He wants Oscar Levant, who has been on before and is both a pianist and a wit. Ben Rappaport is great as the quietly subversive Paar.

As showtimes nears, with no Oscar in sight, the network President becomes more and moreangry. Jack Paar finally learns the truth from Oscar's wife June (Emily Bergl). She has had Oscar committed to a mental institution. But, June continues, Parr isn’t to worry as she has signed him out for 4 hours and he will arrive momentarily. Which he does not. Sarnoff gets even more anxious and Paar keeps the show holding for Oscar. There is a funny bit where Sarnoff wants to cancel Oscar and bring on Xavier Cugat, a severe disappoint that Jack Paar is desperate to avoid.

When Oscar does show up he is jumpy, nervous, and hesitant about appearing on TV. As he gets more angsty, he tries to get to the pills he craves from his medical watchdog. Oscar is a mess waiting for the show and Mr. Hayes brings out the biting side of Oscar's personality. Oscar is touchy, cranky, and unpleasant to be around. He is watched over by medical supervisor Alvin Finney (Marchánt Davis) who brings both compassion and annoyance in the role.

Emily Bergl & Sean Hayes ( PHOTO BY LIZ LAUREN)

And then the Tonight show begins. Jack Paar brings out Oscar and on television he is witty and self-deprecating. This version of Oscar is extroverted and edgy. After the Paar – Levant interview is done, Paar and his wife beg Oscar to play the piano. This is what people expect, but a high Levant wants no part of it.

And yet, Oscar Levant does play. And he plays stunningly. Sean Hayes was trained as a classical pianist, and it shows. The rendition he plays is mastereful. Hayes brings down the house with his playing. It makes the audience want to hear more.

Sean Hayes is astonishing in this role. Oscar Levant was irascible, horrible, and self-centered as well as pithy, charming, and talented. Hayes brings all this together in a single evening, swerving between moods with ease.

Good Night, Oscar is brilliant. In addition to Sean Hayes, both Ben Rappaport and Emily Bergl transport us to that period with their emotions. Playwright Doug Wright and Director Lisa Peterson bring a seemingly innocuous moment into relevance and pathos. They are helped by a design, production, and costume team that works seamlessly. I loved it.

Good Night, Oscar

Playwright: Doug Wright | Director: Lisa Peterson | Cast: Sean Hayes, Emily Bergl, Marchant Davis, Ben Rappaport, Peter Grosz, Marchánt Davis

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Petticoat Junction Updated with Laughs and Heart

I walked in assuming Shucked was not a play for me. I wanted Salvador Dali meets Dolly Parton even knowing that was too much of an ask. Shucked is more of “psychedelic Hee Haw” than Dali, but the absurdist take on the story works great. Beautiful voices, funny jokes, and great camp, make Shucked an absolute delight. Honest.

The story is simple. A hamlet sits in the middle of giant corn fields where no one goes in or out of the town. Corn is the lifeblood of this town. And it is expressed in song, dance, and jokes. Then, one day, the corn crop withers. A young woman leaves the town and seeks out a “corn expert”. She finds a con-artist and brings him back to town. Hijinks ensue, true love is discovered and rediscovered, much is made about family and acceptance by a multi racial cast.

Ashley D. Kelly and Grey Henson bring in the corn and laughs

The cast is disparate in looks and voice. This is important because the songs were written by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. They are experienced song writers primarily in country music field,  but their song writing encompasses nearly every genre in this candy colored musical. The set itself is skewed; off-center and leaning it looks like it's going to tip over any minute.

The spunky young woman who leaves Cob County to find a corn expert is Maizy, played with eager earnest wit by Caroline Innerbichler. She has a sweet country voice and Maizy has some spitfire in her. When her fiancé Beau (the always great Andrew Durand) forbids Maizy from leaving, she packs and goes anyway. Beau delivers a few great tunes in rockabilly to share his heartache.

In the big city of Tampa, she meets Gordy (John Behlmann doing his best slimy city slicker routine), who is a corn doctor. She doesn’t realize that Gordy’s “corn” expertise is limited to picking up rich clients as their podiatrist. She brings him back to Cob County where Beau and Maizy’s cousin Lulu  simmer in distrust.

Skeptical cousin Lulu is played by a fantastic Alex Newell. Her song “independently Owned” brings the house down. She sings with humor, heart and pair of lungs that are hard to beat. Ultimately Lulu ends up in love with Gordy and Maizy ends up back with Beau. None of this is exactly surprising, but that summary does not do the play justice. 

Alex Newell - a showstopper

Beau’s brother is Peanut. A hilarious turn by Kevin Cahoon who seems to channel Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall to give Shucked some good ol' country humor. His jokes pop up out of the blue leaving the audience roaring. His style is reminiscent of Phyllis Diller where the jokes come so rapid fire that you are bound to be overwhelmed with laughter at some point.

The final two characters of the show are Storyteller 1 and 2 – Ashley D. Kelly and Grey Henson. They steer us through the show, providing background and humor. Sometimes that humor is laugh out loud funny, sometimes the jokes are groaners. Storyteller number 2 (Henson) might take a bit of getting used to. He plays a very stereotypical gay man, and the audience starts wondering if he is the butt of a joke. Instead, he turns out to be one of the funniest performers in the show, albeit Cahoon still claims top honors there.

The songs in Shucked are very good but were a bit problematic to me. They seem less like plot points and more like potential singles, complete with endings more suited to radio than Broadway or Nashville. The songs mainly work but the trailing endings have more in common in radio pop. It frustrated and confused people that were desperate to applaud.

Andrew Durand and Caroline Innerbichler

I enjoyed Shucked and had a great time. It reminded me a lot of Something Rotten! Another show that defied expectations with wit, surprising songs, and great overacting. The book for Shucked was written by Robert Horn who brings a heap of jokes to the Nederlander Theater. Director Jack O’Brian keeps a lot of balls in the air to keep the show from tipping into meanspirited parody. 

Shucked

Playwright: Robert Horn | Music and Lyrics: Shane McAnally & Brandy Clark | Director: Robert Horn | Cast: John Behlmann, Kevin Cahoon, Andrew Durand, Grey Henson, Caoline Innerbichler, Ashley D. Kelly, Alex Newell 

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It Takes a Village to Undermine a Home

Matthew McLachlan’ new play, This G*d Damn House, is set in a hoarder’s dream home. Into this living room of junk, two brothers enter in disgust. The house smells of trash and cat urine. In quick succession the seed of the story is planted. This G*d Damn House has been foreclosed and the brothers must clean it out before 9AM tomorrow, 14 hours later.

The brother Danny, played by Gabriel Rysdahl in the leaner role, is confused and frustrated with the state of his childhood home. Jacob is played by Kirk Gostkowski who surprising, understated, and fantastic. Danny and Jacob both discover and reveal more trash and information the deeper the piece goes, but Jacob is given more depth and Gostkowski burns slowly until he hits the wall and goes ballistic.

Sachi Parker, Kirk Gostkowski and Gabriel Rysdahl (photo: David Zayas Jr.)

Their mother Angie (a great turn by pro Sachi Parker) is passive aggressive and a self-delusional liar. Angie is in denial about nearly everything concerning her family. She is surprised that the house is in foreclosure, she claims to have made every payment. She counts on the love and support of her sons, which she raised well and single handedly after their father left – she believes. Angie explains to the boys, repeatedly, that everything must be put in storage, and nothing left behind. Everything in the home is critical to her life. Joining this trio is Angie’s Teacher’s Aid Hannah (well played by Rica De Ocampo). Hannah stops by to help with the packing, stepping out to check on her grandmother every now and then.

Angie’s latest complaint is that Jacob and his wife Ally (Christina Perry in a small but pivotal role) will not divulge the sex of their baby. Angie blames this on Ally. In fact, Angie tends to blame Ally for nearly everything that went wrong in Jacob’s life. This is just another of his mother’s constant digs that Jacob takes.

Gabriel Rysdahl and Rica De Ocampo (photo: David Zayas Jr.)

This G*d Damn House takes a traditional family story and turns it into a hilarious, scathing, and moving story of family dysfunction and the lengths we go to keep our family intact. The house here is full of trash and secrets, the trash being moved and the secrets flowing out with nothing left to hide them. Each brother responds to situation differently.  Danny is shocked by the state of the house and by their mother’s manipulative personality. But he has always kept Angie at arm’s distance and lives in New York. Angie’s quirks and disappointment are simply background noise to Danny. Jacob, on the other hand, has been the one helping his mom consistently. He and his wife live close by and Jacob is familiarly immune to the drama Angie causes. Normally.

The play is refreshing for anyone whose home life was bad, but not “chockfull of drama” bad. This G*d Damn House is full of the small lies we tell ourselves to get through life. Life can be hard and heartbreaking, but it is the only life we know. Playwright Matthew McClachlan has dissected this home life of Angie’s, finding the truths and emotions lying dormant. Director Ella Jane New gives life to a great story told on a small stage. The show brings claustrophobia into even sharper relief in the smaller theater.

This G*d Damn House

Playwright: Matthew McLachlan | Director: Ella Jane New | Cast: Sachi Parker, Kirk Gostkowski, Gabriel Rysdahl, Christina Perry

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