"Psycho Therapy" at Cherry Lane Theatre, February 6, 2012

In its return to regular programming for the 2011-2012 season, Cherry Lane Theatre brings us Frank Strausser's new comedy.  It's a bit fluffy, and could easily have been adapted into an episode of Frasier.  Actually, that might have been a better idea.

In this intermissionless, 90 minute, four-hander, we meet early-middle-aged Lily (Angelica Page), torn between the good-on-paper Philip (Laurence Lau) and the much younger and significantly richer Dorian (Jeffrey Carlson), all during couples therapy with psychologist Nancy (Jan Leslie Harding). Neuroses abound, from Nancy's chocolate fetish, to Lily's inability to choose, to Philip's fear of commitment to Dorian's fear of being alone.

Performances are generally even, but hampered by the two-dimensional writing.  For some unexplored reason, Lily is incapable of standing by a choice for more than three minutes, absurdly flip-flopping between the guys multiple times within a scene.  Ms. Harding's Nancy is the only performance that reaches for a third dimension as she flails over raising a teenaged daughter.

Whoever directed (unlisted in the playbill) pulls for the physical laughs instead of trying to mine the script, though that's a fairly shallow resource.

Production values are excellent; a gorgeous set by Michael V. Moore and solid lighting by Jeff Croiter.  If the script had met the bar set by these elements, it could have been a great night at the theatre.  Instead, it's an evening of little substance, but a couple of laughs.

Psycho Therapy runs through February 25.  Get tickets here.

Post updated 02/08/2012

Melting Down the Nuclear Family

"The American Dream" and "The Sandbox" at the Cherry Lane Theatre, March 27, 2008

Under the direction of the author, these two one-act plays appear to be the first time Mr. Albee revisited a previous play to write something of a prequel. He did this recently with the successful "Peter and Jerry" adding "Homelife" as a prequel to "Zoo Story."

There's not quite the same direct connection here, but we do get two visits with Mommy (Judith Ivey), Daddy (George Bartenieff) and Grandma (Lois Markle). In "The American Dream," Mommy and Daddy are waiting on a visitor, though they're not quite sure whom or why. Mrs. Barker (Kathleen Butler) shows up, also unsure as to why she's there. Finally Grandma tells Mrs. Barker a sordid tale of an infant boy whose adoptive parents mutilate and ultimately kill. No sooner is the story ended that the doorbell rings at the arrival of a tall, handsome and muscular Young Man (Harmon Walsh). He tells his own tale of emptiness, pain and the loss of his twin brother at birth, with events that match up to the torture of the boy Grandma talked about. Grandma uses the young man as an opportunity to escape the bickering, sniping and threats of calling "the van man." Mommy, Daddy and Mrs. Barker discover the Young Man in their living room. Mommy is immediately (if pruriently) attracted to the Young Man, finding something very familiar about him as she flirts. The act ends before revealing any more.

"The Sandbox" opens on a beach where The (very muscular) Young Man (Jesse Williams) speedo-clad this time, stands slowly waving his arms. Mommy and Daddy enter, looking for the right spot to deposit Grandma. It seems Grandma has lived well beyond her usefulness and they seek a convenient spot to facilitate her demise. Daddy carries her in as she squawks and squeals like an infant. Once placed in the sandbox, Mommy brings on The Musician (Daniel Shevlin) to accompany the proceedings on the cello. It gets late, so Mommy and Daddy leave. Grandma then engages The Young Man in conversation, learning that he's been hired to play the role of the angel of death.

Ms. Ivey is a most overbearing, self-centered and obnoxious Mommy, manipulating and intimidating everyone in her path. This Mommy may hear, but rarely listens unless it concerns her own wants.

In Daddy, Mr. Bartenieff is a mouse of a milquetoast, befuddled and more concerned for calmness than clarity.

Of the Young Men offered, Mr. Williams is the more successful of the two. The very handsome Mr. Walsh comes across a bit self-conscious and ill at ease with Mr. Albee's dialogue. Mr. Williams is afforded a bit more leeway with the overt transparency of his purpose on stage.

Ms. Markle's Grandma is the only character who is afforded more than two dimensions. Writhing under the mental torture of her daughter's charity (not that she'd ever be allowed to forget that), hers is the only voice of normalcy among the surrounding navel-gazers.

Having seen Arthur Laurent's direction of "Gypsy" and now Mr. Albee's direction of his own work, I find a similar economy of effort, basic and straightforward, generally allowing the actor to make his/her own way through the role. As with Pinter, it seems that Mr. Albee is also an "actor's playwright." Finding meaningful motivation and subtext amid the absurd plots/scenarios must provide a great and exciting challenge for an actor.

As the author, Mr. Albee has created a scenario he would go on to explore from many different directions, that of dysfunctional family groups and murky stories of children from such unions. I could see a bit of "...Virginia Woolf's" Martha and George in some of Mommy and Daddy's interactions, as well as the unseen child from that play. Many have already discussed the impact of Mr. Albee's own adoptive parents on his writing. I won't attempt further analysis here.

Neil Patel's basic sets and Nicole Pearce's lights neither distract or make significant contribution to the proceedings. Carrie Robbins' costumes are equally serviceable, if unremarkable (though what was up with that poorly attached lace collar/shawl on Grandma's dress and her dreadful shoes?)

In The Eye Of The Beholder

"Phallacy" at Cherry Lane Theatre, June 9, 2007

In an Austrian art museum, Dr. Regina Leitner-Opfermann rules (get it?) as a foremost authority on ancient sculpture. The pride of the museum's collection is an original Roman Bronze statue of a nude youth dating back to something like 300 BC. She authenticated the find several years before, published a book about it and is so totally invested in its artistic and historic value, that she cannot (or will not) see room for error. Enter Dr. Rex Stolzfuss, renowned scientist of chemistry, who has done a bit of his own testing on the statue, discovering that the statue is more likely a Renaissance reproduction than a Roman original. When he comes to Dr. Leitner-Opfermann to discuss his findings, she dismisses him out of hand, insulted that her word and work could have been questioned.

The plotting and scheming starts immediately, with Dr. Stolzfuzz ("Proud Foot") out for revenge. Dr. Leitner-Opfermann ("Lead-Victim") instantly knows where she went wrong in her own analysis and begins to search for a way to acknowledge the fact without losing face in the art community. Each is assisted in their efforts, Regina by Emma Finger, a Renaissance Art expert assigned by the museum and Rex by Otto Ellenbogen ("elbow"), his graduate assistant. It's all tied up nicely in that Otto and Emma have their own brief history of flirtation, which may have included one lusty encounter. He's smitten, but she knows it and plays it to her advantage even though she's equally as smitten, which in turn plays to his advantage.

Sounding a little contrived yet?

There's more - a sub-plot connected to the illegitimate son of HRE Charles V and his mother that ties back to the statue in question.

Playwright Carl Djerassi is by training and education a scientist and professor of chemistry at Stanford University, with both a National Medal of Science for developing "the Pill" and a National Medal of Technology, just to name a few of his professional accomplishments. Some 10 years ago, he began writing plays which have been performed around the world. "Phallacy" represents his fifth play and premiered in London in 2005. Written with a broad stroke, its exploration of art vs. science receives treatment which is, at time, a bit heavy-handed. Just the naming of the characters demonstrates that. Rex and Regina - king and queen, he the proud foot kicking down her world, she the lead victim, assistants named for bodily extremities. It doesn't really qualify as subtle, does it? Not to say that the play is without entertainment value or even a bit of education along the way. I would not have otherwise known that during the Renaissance, artists were paid by the pound for bronze sculpture which lead to pretty thick and heavy statues - a big reason why so many more survive, as opposed to the much thinner and therefore more vulnerable bronze castings from the Roman era.

As Regina, Lisa Harrow excels during her lecture monologues about the statue. She conveys a passion and love for this art that might have led to her divorce from Herr Opfermann. This actually seems like a plot point that went unexplored and might have provided some interesting depth to an otherwise simply arrogant woman. In her scenes, Ms. Harrow occasionally gets caught up in the lines, losing some of that passion so well-displayed when she described each square centimeter of the bronze.

Simon Jones' Rex doesn't quite get the same opportunity to shine. Reduced to an insulted academic with an ax to grind, he comes off as rather petty, seeking revenge against Regina for having tossed out his offer to release the news of the true age of the bronze.

As Emma, Carrie Heitman does the best she can with what she's given. She did come off a little colder than necessary in her scenes with Vince Nappo as Rex's assistant, Otto Ellenbogen. Mr. Nappo's moments to shine were in the few flashback-subplot scenes where he and Ms. Harrow played the illegitimate son of HRE Charles V and his mother.

Director Elena Araoz keeps a nice pace on this little pot-boiler, but there's not enough fuel in the material for it to really build into something worthwhile. Susan Zeeman Rogers' sets place everything just a bit off-center in her abstract setting that allows for easy transition from office to museum gallery to 16th Century Luxembourg. Katy Tucker's projection design is a clever technique projecting images over Mr. Nappo's and Ms. Harrow's bodies to effect a costume change.