Grand Horizons: Everyone Gets a Chance to Shine in this Dramedy

Grand Horizons has a fantastic cast. Anchored by Jane Alexander, the talented group of actors breathes life into Grand Horizons, allowing it to deliver beyond the boundaries of the page. Because what limits the play is baked into the script and format.

Grand Horizons is the story of an elderly couple, Nancy and Bill, played by Jane Alexander and James Cromwell. The story opens as they go through the ritual of breakfast in their new “senior living” apartment. During this silent ritual, the ennui of Nancy is palpable, cumulating in a request for a divorce. The request is met with a simple acknowledgement from Bill.

Next we are introduced to the two sons of the couple; Brian (Michael Urie) the gay, overly dramatic younger son and Ben (Ben McKenzie) the older, structured brother. With Ben is his wife, Jess (Ashley Park) a former counselor, who wants to work on the parental issues. The children try to understand exactly what has caused this change in their parents’ relationships, but Nancy and Bill are not helpful. This leads to a great deal of comedic tension, and bit of character development of Brian and Nancy.

Brian spends the first night at his parents’ house a brings home a horny and funny man, Tommy (Maulik Pancholy). Tommy’s attempt to get laid with the self-absorbed Brian is actually hilarious. But Tommy knows a lost cause when he sees it and leaves.

After the intermission, we are introduced to Bill’s lady friend Carla (a welcome Priscilla Lopez). Nancy explains how to take care of her husband to the new girlfriend and Carla suddenly sees what she is signing up for. In the second half Ben McKenzie and Ashley Park are also giving scenes to shine in.

Grand Horizons plays like a comedy-drama TV show, which may or may annoy the viewer. The format and timing makes it seem like one just watched the first two episodes of a pretty good series. I’d be interested in what happens to Nancy and Bill next. But it doesn’t deliver a full punch as a play. We get a fantastic cast where everyone gets a scene or two where they get to shine. Only Jane Alexander gets the chance to develop a character, and she is fantastic.

I can’t fault the cast, they are nearly perfect in execution. And Director Leigh Silverman creates a pace that both allows the action to play out naturally and doesn’t ever get bogged down. Playwright Bess Wohl has created a detailed and interesting story, but it left me wanting to know what happens in the next few episodes. 

Grand Horizons 

Playwright: Bess Wohl | Director: Leigh Silverman | Cast: Jane Alexander, James Cromwell, Priscilla Lopez, BeMcKenzie, Maulik Pancholy, Ashley Park, Michael Urie

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The Lady From Dubuque: An Unnecessary Revival

The Lady From Dubuque @ Pershing Square Signature Center

Edward Albee’s early work, The Lady From Dubuque, is getting a revival from the new Signature Center Theater.  It is a rarely seen work, which even the author admits is difficult.  “Difficult” might be putting it too kindly.  The Lady From Dubuque doesn’t work on multiple levels.

Jane Alexander as The Lady From Dubuque

The story opens with 3 couples playing a 20-questions like game called “Who Am I?”  The game gives ample opportunity to flesh out these characters; but instead we are given a set of unpleasant stereotypes.  A milquetoast couple, a thrice divorced man and his new young girlfriend, and Sam and Jo, the hosts.  Jo is terminally ill, which has turned her nasty disposition into hurtful shrewishness.  Beyond putting in a polite, perfunctory appearance, there is no reason any neighbor would stray within spitting distance of Jo.  Her nasty asides to the audience are sometimes humorous.  But the biting comments to her guests are purposeless attempts to pull everyone down to her level.  It is unpleasant to watch.

As to her illness, Jo appears to be dying of terrible menstrual cramps.  It is a quibble to argue for reality in a surrealist show, but Jo’s pain is both so loud and so intermittent, as to be unbelievable.  She is remarkably agile in the first half, popping out to the front yard to comfort Lucinda - before walking back in the house, only to scream and hold her lower stomach.  Then she pulls out of the pain long enough to berate her husband.  This on-again off-again wouldn’t be a problem, but the next morning (in Act 2), Jo is so delirious as to not recognize anyone and has suddenly arrived on death’s doorstep. 

The second half is where the real trouble starts.  At the end of the first act, strangers Elizabeth and Oscar show up in the house, uninvited and mysterious.  In the second half they act as a catalyst to set up existential questions – as the characters from last night drop by for no particular reason.  But because no character acts as they would in reality, the questions are exercises in passing time.

Oscar is an African-American, and his dialog is where the play often shows it’s age.  Peter Francis James does a good job making the dialog acceptable, but it still veers occasionaly into uncomfortable for no reason.  C.J. Wilson’s character, Fred, - as the strong alpha male, has also aged poorly.  What was once “manly” is now bullying and misogynistic. 

Jane Alexander does a fine job as the ethereal Elizabeth, but the problems with motivation and actions doom not just her character, but the entire proceedings.   Elizabeth, The Lady From Dubuque, is a cypher and it is hard to create a connection to this type of character.

All in all, it is hard to recommend this show to anyone but a devoted Edward Albee fan.

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The Lady From Dubuque at The Pershing Square Theater, at the Signature Center

Playwright: Edward Albee

Director: David Esbjornson

Cast: Jane Alexander, Catherine Curtin, Michael Hayden, Peter Francis James, Tricia Paoluccio, Thomas Jay Ryna, Laila Robins, C.J. Wilson

Through April 1

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