Picking Up the Pieces in After

After is a gut punch that sneaks up on you. The play is set in an upscale house, typical of something you would see in Westchester or the Hamptons, smoothing blues and tasteful furniture. And it is populated by the nice mid-upper class semi-repressed white inhabitants you expect. The very normality is what lulls you into the expectation of a simple story with simple answers. Author Michael McKeever gives a straightforward, albeit not simple, story and then delivers the raw emotions that go with it.

The central dynamic of After is the conflict between two sets of parents who are long acquaintances, but not friends. Connie and Alan Beckman (Denise Cormier and Bill Phillips) are visiting the home of Julia and Tate Campbell (Mia Matthews and Michael Frederic). The Beckman’s son was bullied by the Campbell’s son and they have been invited over to discuss the situation. Julia Campbell has also invited her sister who is an old friend of Connie’s. Sister Val (Jolie Curtsinger) comes to the discussion as a referee of sorts.

Mia Matthews, Jolie Curtsinger, Bill Phillips, Denise Cormier, Michael Frederic in AFTER at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by John Quilty Photography

What follows is a series of three scenes, each dealing with more complexity from the original incident. The emotions drive into and then past the stereotypes of the characters. Denise Cormier is an over-protective mother of a sensitive son. Bill Phillips plays her husband as a beta male, a man who just lost his job in the cut-throat world of finance. In contrast, the Campbells are the power couple. Mia Matthews is the perfect housewife and mother, perfect to the point of obsession. Michael Fredric is her husband, an alpha male who sees anything less that outright injury as boys being boys as they become men.

Jolie Curtsinger is the woman in the middle. She is Julia’s sister, but an old friend of Connie. She exists to give us voice and insight into these people who, left to their own devices, would simply bluster and leave. She is the catalyst that moves them past their own viewpoints. It sounds a bit forced, but in practice it is an organic element that greatly benefits After.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot because After should be a bit of a surprise for the full  effect, even when it feels a bit predictable. But rest assured, the performances are uniformly flawless. Michael Frederic can never drop his alpha demeanor and yet he still brings a depth to the performance that is shocking. And the transformation of Mia Matthews as the perfect housewife is harrowing. By contrast the transformation of Denise Cormier and Bill Phillips seem at first a shorter journey. But the depth they bring to the characters is wonderful. And Jolie Curtsinger never feels anything but critical to the action.

I loved After. I was surprised and touched by this show. It is a bit of a throwback to peal at the emotions of an upper middleclass privileged family but in using these characters the commonality of emotions is explored. It is wonderfully directed by Joe Brancato allowing his actors freedom to feel, and never letting it feel over the top.

After

Playwright:Michael McKeever | Director: Joe Brancato | Cast: Mai Matthews, Bill Phillips, Denise Cormier, Jolie Curtsinger, Michael Frederic

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