Reviewed by Judd
Hollander
Barely remembered
images from childhood collide with recollections others simply don't want to
revisit in John Guare's Nantucket Sleigh
Ride. The show offering an interesting take on the idea of a memory play,
now at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center through May 5.
It's 2010 and
Edmund Gowery (John Larroquette) is a Wall Street executive. Someone who, if
not a member of the so-called 1%, is certainly in that neighborhood. Yet more
than three decades earlier he was an up-and-coming young playwright whose major
effort, Internal Structure of Stars, was
considered a masterwork. One of those pieces just about everybody back then
performed in, tried out for or used as an audition piece at least once. Edmund
recalling those days, when he actually does, with nothing more than a sense of
tired bemusement. Though it does irk him that he has never been asked to
autograph a copy of his work.
Edmund's well-ordered
life is suddenly upended when two figures from his past suddenly appear. Poe
(Adam Chanler-Berat) and his sister Lilac (Grace Rex) having tracked Edmund
down in an attempt to learn exactly what happened thirty-five years earlier.
During a time they were children, living with their mother off the coast of Massachusetts , on the island of Nantucket . The story then flashes back to 1975 when
Gowery was a 30-year-old New York playwright basking in his recent artistic notoriety. He is also
more than a little full of himself; being either somewhat brusque or downright
rude to those he does not know or has no time for. Edmund is also in the midst
of a torrid affair with Antonia (Tina Benko). The very beautiful wife of his
middle-aged literary agent, Gilbert (Jordan Gelber).
It takes a call
from Nantucket police officer Aubrey Coffin (Stacey
Sargeant) concerning the subject of child pornography to bring Edmund to Nantucket for the very first time. He having previously
purchased a house there. Site unseen, for tax purposes and on Gilbert's advice.
A house complete with tenants. Said tenants consisting of Poe, Lilac, their
mother Elsie (Clea Alsip) and husband Schuyler (Douglas Sills). Or has the
mysterious McPhee (Will Swenson), taken Schuyler's place in Elsie's bed and her
heart? This question one Edmund is soon trying to figure out as both men clearly
have different perspectives on the issue.
As Edmund attempts
to navigate the ins and outs of the above mentioned relationship, he also finds
himself somewhat persona non grata on the island for having previously refused
an invitation to attend a performance of his play. His actions in this regard
sparking a plot of revenge against him. If that weren't enough, Edmund soon
finds himself a subject of a possible murder investigation. Coffin not looking
to frame Edmund for anything he didn't do, but clearly relishing the possibility
of putting him away should the evidence continue to point to him as the guilty
party.
As events continue
to unfold, the question quickly becomes whose truth matters the most? Is it
more important to remember things as they actually occurred, or is it better
knowing why they happened the way they did? Especially if one wants to avoid
hurting those affected by the events in question. There's also a gentle warning
throughout about treating other people with respect. As your actions towards
them just might come back to haunt you when you least expect it. Something
Edmund learns again and again as he struggle to discern just how much of what
he is experiencing is actually real.
By the of the first
act, as things continue to go exponentially off the rails for Edmund, the
entire play ends up taking on an almost farcical context. Matters taking a
sharp turn into Twilight Zone territory, with one having absolutely no idea
where things will go after intermission. Or exactly how Guare will be able pull
it all together going forward.
Unfortunately more
often than not, he doesn't. The pace of the show soon beginning to slow to a
crawl with what was shown before never allowed to come full circle. Guare and
director Jerry Zaks taking great delight in tantalizing everyone with the idea
of numerous possibilities; but without proper closure, one can't help but feel
a little cheated by the end result. The work simply too uneven to really allow
the audience to connect with the various characters. It also doesn’t go far
enough either comedically or dramatically to make a lasting impact.
Larroquette give a
fine performance, although perhaps a wig or some other piece of clothing would
have worked to make him better appear 35 years younger in the flashback
sequences. Playing someone rather befuddled for a good part of the play, it’s a
treat to see his character suddenly come alive when he finds inspiration in the
unlikeliest of places. While seemingly breaking the confines of time and space
in the process. Chanler-Berat and Rex are nicely earnest and deliberately
annoying as youngsters living happily in their own world until it's all pulled
out from under them. The rest of the cast, several playing multiple roles, are
all enjoyable enough. Swenson doing a standout turn as Elsie's possible
boyfriend/stalker McPhee.
Featuring: Stacey
Sargeant (Secretary/Aubrey Coffin), John Larroquette (Edmund Gowery), Adam
Chanler-Berat (Poe), Grace Rex (Lilac), Jordan Gelber (Gilbert), Tina Benko
(Antonia/Alice), Douglas Sills (Dr. Harbinger/Schuyler/Walt Disney), Germán
Jaramillo (Jorge Luis Borges), Clea Alsip (She/Elise), Will Swenson (McPhee).
By John Guare
Sets and
Projections: David Gallo
Costumes: Emily
Rebholz
Lighting: Howell
Binkley
Original Music and
Sound: Mark Bennett
Stage Manager:
Janet Takami
Assistant Stage
Manager: Karen Evanouskas
Casting: Daniel
Swee
Dramatrug: Anne
Cattaneo
Director of Marketing:
Linda Mason Ross
General Manager: Jessica
Niebanck
Production Manager:
Paul Smithyman
General Press
Agent: Philip Rinaldi
Directed by Jerry
Zaks
Mitzi E. Newhouse
Theatre at Lincoln
Center
Address: 150 West 65th Street
Tickets: (212) 501-3201 or /www.lct.org/shows/nantucket-sleigh-ride/
Running time: 2
Hours, 5 Minutes, one intermission
Closes: May 5,
2019
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