The Snow Geese

"The Snow Geese" presented by Manhattan Theatre Club, October 20, 2013

An approaching winter of discontent is stirring as the lights come up on The Snow Geese, Sharr White's new play at Manhattan Theatre Club.  It's November, 1917, and the Gaeslings have gathered at their country lodge outside Syracuse, NY to celebrate the opening of goose hunting season.  The gloom of Theodore Gaesling's recent death looms over the proceedings as his widow Elizabeth (Mary Louise Parker) struggles to keep her chin up as her first-born Duncan (Evan Jonigkeit) prepares to ship out to fight in WWI France.  Elizabeth's pious sister Clarissa (Victoria Clark) and husband Max (Danny Burstein) have taken up residence with Elizabeth after local anti-German sentiment has forced them out of their own home and Max's medical practice. The house staff has reduced to a new Ukrainian immigrant maid, Viktorya, whose beauty has enraptured younger son Arnold (Brian Cross).

Arnold has also been tasked with sorting out the books following his father's death, which turns out to me more of an autopsy of the family finances.  It seems Theodore was no savvy businessman.  Previous staff and accountants had drained the family's wealth.

What to do?

Ms. Parker's Elizabeth is a woman in desperate denial following the loss of the love of her life and on the eve of her golden child leaving for war.  She gives a solid and respectable performance, dour as reality smacks her in the face then basking in the glow of a laudanum-inspired dream that reunites her with Theodore.  As Clarissa, Ms. Clark tut-tuts about, frowning on the free-flow of alcohol as a good, obtuse and American Methodist should thriving in the search for practical solutions to the family problems. Her sisterly tension with Ms. Parker works nicely.  Jessica Love gives a strong turn as Viktorya, particularly when she schools Duncan on harshness of loss, sharing her own  trauma when the Austrians invaded.

Mr. Burstein turns in another nicely shaded performance as the German ex-patriate doctor, betrayed and shunned by his adopted country because of his accent. Mr. Jonigkeit's Duncan swaggers appropriately as the favored and petted heir.  He manages a fine line between shock and melodrama as he learns all that his family has given up for him.  It's Mr. Cross' Arnold who really shines as a young man, still a teenager, who shoulders the burden of his father's financial mistakes and shortcomings, as well as the burden of not being first-born and therefore never given credit for brains or effort.

The bigger weaknesses of this production are in the script.  Mr. White gives Duncan a line that includes, "...because we're Americans.  That's what we do."  Given the history of US entry into WWI, and the previous position of isolationism, that kind of statement comes across as an anachronism.  Another example is Arnold shouting about "...expressing my feelings...," not exactly language of the period.

Director Daniel Sullivan manages to rise above the weaknesses in the script, supported by his strong cast.  John Lee Beatty's sliding platform sets are excellent,even if some of the set elements are a little reminiscent of Cinderella which is playing around the corner and up Broadway.  Jane Greenwood's costumes are spot on.

In all, it's a solid production carried by the strength of the company. The Snow Geese runs through December 15, 2013.  Get tickets here.

Time Stands Still

"Time Stands Still" presented by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, March 24, 2010

Donald Margulies continues his successful relationship with MTC in his latest work, Time Stands Still, an exploration of two war journalists trying to survive the aftermath of recording the gore and horrors in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Jamie (Brian D'Arcy James) brings home long-time girlfriend, Sarah (Laura Linney), in the last stages of recovery from injuries by a roadside bomb.  Her scarred and broken body belies her passion for the value of her photography as a means to expose the injustice and cruelty of war.

Tightly directed by Daniel Sullivan, the able cast brings us a compelling tale of a warrior who can't stop fighting despite the love she receives.  Ms. Linney is, as always, clear and focused in her portrayal of Sarah.  Mr. Bogosian and Ms. Silverstone support very well as Jamie's editor/publisher and his new, young girlfriend, respectively.  It is Mr. D'Arcy James who carries the evening.  His Jamie is exhausted from the real battles that he and Sarah cover, the battle of her infidelity as well as the battle to get Sarah to leave the danger of that life behind.  He's always first to reach out and always ends up rejected.  It's a remarkable performance.

Time Stands Still closed on March 27.

Starwatch - Mary Louise Parker was in the audience (scouting for the movie, perhaps?).

Pinter: Putting the Fun in Dysfunction? The Irk in Quirky?

"The Homecoming" at the Cort Theatre, February 12, 2008

I'll say first that I haven't seen many productions of Harold Pinter's plays. Actually, I think this is only my second, the first having been the Roundabout's revival of "The Caretaker" a couple of years ago.

With that said, I'm not sure I'm a Pinter fan, at least from an audience perspective.

I've heard it said that film is a director's medium, where stage is more the actor's. I've also heard comments that success in Pinter's work is found in the acting between the lines of dialog. To me that sounds a like a bit of blurring as to whose medium specifically Pinter plays would be.

Entering the world of a Pinter play seems to contain an element of voyuerism. He reveals, layer by layer, the ugliest and most twisted family I've ever seen on a stage. Max (Ian McShane) is the retired butcher and aging bully patriarch of the all-male household, including his brother Sam (Michael McKean) and sons Lenny (Raul Esparza) and Joey (Gareth Saxe). Max's power is fading. Lenny's is growing, as is his contempt and intolerance of his father. Joey is the aspiring boxer, who appears to have taken too many blows to the head already. Sam just wants a peaceful existence.

Teddy (James Frain), the oldest son arrives after a nine year absence with wife Ruth (Eve Best) in tow. They've been visiting Europe away from their home and three sons in the US and have dropped in unannounced. Once Ruth's presence in the house is known, the sexual tension short circuits the entire house, led by Lenny and followed the next morning by Max in a misogynistic game of one-upsmanship. Make no mistake, Ruth can give as good as she gets in this game. And, before you know it, Teddy, Joey, and even Sam in his own befuddled way get in the game, too.

As Max, Mr. McShane wields his cane like the meat cleaver with which his character had spent his career. He carries the same piss and vinegar bluster that he displayed so well in HBO's Deadwood for two seasons. His Max realizes his increasing impotence, both figuratively and literally, fueling his rage.

As the oldest, Teddy, Mr. Frain is the only man in the family who has completed higher education and appears to have risen above his lower class London roots. He is dry and attentive, but plays Teddy distantly, almost as a mere observer in his own life. This detachment is almost chilling as Ruth makes her choice about her own future.

Mr. Esparza's Lenny is jaded and aloof, but ever-opportunistic. It takes some time to figure out that he's something of a high-rolling pimp, running a bordello operation at multiple sites. His deadpan delivery did have some ups and downs in its effectiveness. In the opening scene with Max, it delivers his disdain to his father. Later, it feels more like he's just trying to get all the words out.

Mr. McKean's Sam, a chauffeur, grasps for self-respect, but is painfully cowed in the high-testosterone environment. Mr. Saxe's Joey is at first just a dumb jock, unaware of his physical strength as a weapon against his father's and brother's insults and intimidation. Joey's muscle is put to use in Lenny's business when it comes to recruiting new talent for the family business, though even he doesn't really know of his crimes.

Eve Best gives another splendid performance for New York as Ruth. Buttoned up and wary in her first entrance, she warms to the harsh environment and rises to the challenging with surprising results. Ms. Best gives as good as she gets and fiercely matches the intensity of the performances around her.

Eugene Lee's set is a house that appears under renovation, but is actually under destruction represented by exposed wall studs and ceiling beams. Kenneth Posner's lighting complements well. Jess Goldstein's costumes evoke the period.

Director Daniel Sullivan has done an excellent job filling in between the lines. Tension is established early on and only builds through the evening. He maneuvers this talented cast through what must be an amazing acting experience. It's a somewhat bitter pill for the audience however, as these damaged and angry characters wreak emotional (and sometimes physical) havoc on each other. Pinter is certainly not for the feint of heart and Mr. Sullivan never lets us forget it.

If you're looking to be challenged during your night at the theatre, this is the place to be. Better hurry - this limited run ends April 13.