"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."
I didn't expect to enjoy the new play "Indian Summer" at Playwrights Horizons as much as I did. I have been disappointed in their much touted productions by the current batch of hot young playwrights specifically Lucas Hnath's "The Christians," Anne Washburn's" Antlia Pneumatica" and Bruce Norris's "The Qualms." Smartly directed by Carolyn Cantor, the Gregory S. Moss play takes place in the Newburyport, Massachusetts, a summer beach destination for the middle class from New York and Boston. It revolves around the relationships between Daniel, a 16 year old misanthrope, who has been dumped by his mother with his quirky step-grandfather for the summer, and a local girl named Izzy. Daniel is played with great depth by Owen Campbell and Elise Kibler as the shrill townie Izzy is a revelation, shedding layers of her brittle onion skin to create a fully nuanced portrait of a young woman caught between the life she knows and her dreams. Izzy shakes the adolescent Daniel out of his loneliness and misanthropy and he discovers love. Jonathan Hadary is entertaining as Daniel's widowed step-grandfather George but his character is really a device to frame and move along the play. And Joe Tippet as Jeremy, Izzy's doltish boyfriend, provides comic relief. Don't expect Pinter or Albee (I know, I know, "Shut up already about Pinter and Albee.") but if you want an evening of light entertainment this is an option.
Unfortunately, it was a battle to make it through the first act of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins "War" at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theatre. "An Octoroon" at Soho was a brilliant theatrical experience but he has since disappointed with "Gloria" at the Vinyard theatre but which was, at least, watchable. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, she of the dreadful "Revolt, She Said" at Soho Rep this Spring and "Red Speedo" at NYTW, the play is formulaic, dull and not enhanced by the monologues spoken directly to the audience by the coma-induced central character while the other actors crawl ape-like around the stage. Given that the playwright is "brown" and that at least one of the ape-approximators is a white actor, I guess I am not allowed to call this out at racist, but still... I don't want to do the actors the disservice of naming them as I think it would be best that they move on without this blemish on their resumes. Needless to say, even after a second glass of cheap pino grigio at intermission, I did not have the resolve to return for the second act.
Have I mentioned the lovely staged reading I saw of "Letters to Sala" at the Museum of Jewish Heritage? The play by Arlene Hutton is based on the book "Sala's Gift" by Ann Kirshner (spoiler alert: Sala's daughter) and is a stage enactment of letters that Sala received and saved while in various work camps during the Holocaust. The reading was well directed by Eric Nightengale and beautifully acted by a large cast. Sala who is well into her 90's is still alive. Keep your eye out for a future production.
Upcoming: Irish Arts Center will present a Pen, Paper, and Palate event "Eating for Health, Love, Sex, and Death" on May 31st at The Half King. There will be an esteemed panel of writers including Joel Salatin (on health), Paula Butturini (on love), Giulia Melucci (on sex), and Jon McGoran (on death), moderated by Bill Yosses, the former White House Executive Pastry Chef. And on June 7th William Doyle will read from PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy at Irish Arts Center. This is the paperback launch of his book, originally published in October 2015. For more info and tickets go to www.irishartscenter.org/.
