Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling: Alternatively Fascinating and Frustrating

Review by Judd Hollander
Photos by Kevin Thomas Garcia

Taking potshots at the hypocrisy of the white upper middle class has long been a favorite pastime of playwrights. Where someone like an A.R. Gurney might make his point with the finesse of a master craftsman, Adam Rapp instead prefers the sledge hammer approach, using wit and angst to tear down illusions and the status quo with an almost crazed fervor in his latest work Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling, presented by the Atlantic Theater Company.

In a wealthy Connecticut home, longtime married couple Dr. Bertram Cabot (Reed Barney) and his wife Sandra (Christine Lahti) are a typical WASPy pair. They have money, throw it around with carefree abandon, travel the world and are involved in various causes and projects. The couple's latest such effort involves teaching Wilma (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), their new African-American maid, to speak French (as Bertram puts it, "it's kind of like our own little continuing ed program.").

However, there is pain under these seemingly happy exteriors. The Cabot's daughter Cora (Katherine Waterston) has basically become a shut-in since graduating college, and a constant source of irritation to her parents. On this particular evening, Bertram and Sandra are giving a sort of welcome home party for James Von Stofenberg (Shane McRae), son of their longtime friends Dirk and Celeste Von Stofenberg (Cotter Smith, Betsy Aidem), James only now getting back on his feet after battling schizophrenia and a brush with suicide.

It also quickly becomes apparent that Sandra is not a happy woman. She takes continual verbal swipes at Bertram, whom she has grown to despise, while brazenly making passes at Dirk. Plus, when she finally gets Dirk alone, Sandra asks him to help her kill her husband and then run away with her. At first Dirk doesn't know what to make of Sandra's request or advances, but being trapped in loveless marriage of his own, he finds himself seriously considering the proposition.

Underneath all the trappings and phony layers presented is the almost pathological need for a second chance and an opportunity to start over. As the play progress, what emerges is a portrait of lost souls, all (except perhaps Wilma and Celeste) desperately searching for something to make them feel truly alive once more.

It should be noted that Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling is not one of Rapp's best works; the play requiring strong performances and direction to make the script come alive. Fortunately this production has plenty of both to help get over the soft spots. Lahti steals the show as Sandra, a powerful woman channeling her sexuality into every word, motion or innuendo she can get away with. Lahti and Rapp also paint Sandra with an almost Machiavellian streak, as she's determined to find a way out of her current situation, no matter what the cost or who it hurts.

However since Lahti comes on so strong and all but dominates the first 20 minutes of the play, when she leaves the stage, there's a noticeable drop in pacing. Waterston, as Cora, and reminding one of the Wynona Rider character in "Bettlejuice," simply isn't up to taking over from her. (Reed and Smith, fortunately are able to hold their own in their scenes with Lahti.) In the same vein, some of the early dinner sequences, with the entire group sitting and talking, feel rather stilted and flat in light of what has come before. At least until Cora and James find themselves alone and begin a hilariously choreographed scene that ends on top of the dining room table; a segment which combines sex, comedy, desperation and need, with almost no words spoken throughout. There's also a wonderful moment when Wilma walks in on the goings-on and is accidentally drawn into the proceedings, as well as becoming a reluctant co-conspirator of sorts.

Smith nicely underplays the character of Dirk. Like Sandra, he's also trapped in a situation he would do anything to escape from, even though he has never fully really realized these feelings, much less verbalized them, till now. Battered by hints of a financial scandal, and desperate for a modicum of peace, he finds himself taking the only path open to him, and one can often feel the terrible loneliness he carries inside.

Birney and Aidem are hamstrung by the one-dimensional limits of their characters, and thus have little chance to really resonate with the audience (though one can occasionally feel the impotent pain in Bertram's decision to run and hide rather than face some serious issues). Both acquit themselves well, despite the limitations of the script.

Waterston's character also suffers from a lack of descriptive history, though she gets a chance to shine in the scene described above, ably displaying both her comic and dramatic talents as a result. McRae is good as the tormented James, and Bernstine adds some sly charm as Wilma, a woman who just tries to keep her head down, do her job and who often gets to have a private laugh in her dealings with Sandra.

Neil Pepe's direction is good, keeping the story moving nicely and having the actors use as much of the stage as possible. Indeed, Lahti at times resembles a menacing jungle cat, stalking Dirk as her pray, with the end objective firmly fixed in her mind. Unfortunately Pepe, like the actors, is often defeated by the lack of various details in the script (back stories on Celeste, Cora and Bertram, and a deeper look into Dirk and Celeste's history would have been a nice place to start).

The dining room set by Andrew Boyce and Takeshi Kata is nicely functional and David Van Tieghem's work with sound design is very strong. Costumes by Theresa Squire are nicely appealing, especially the outfits worn by Lahti and Waterston.

Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling is an interesting look at those who, on the surface, seemingly have it all, but who are actually tormented beyond belief inside. Quite funny and powerful as anything Rapp has written at points, at other times the script simply doesn't hold up as it should.

Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling

Featuring: Christine Lahti (Sandra Cabot), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Wilma), Reed Birney (Dr. Bertram Cabot), Cotter Smith (Dirk Von Stofenberg), Katherine Waterston (Cora Cabot), Betsy Aidem (Celeste Von Stofenberg), Shane McRae (James Von Stofenberg)

Written by Adam Rapp

Directed by Neil Pepe

Sets: Andres Boyce & Takeshi Kata

Costumes: Theresa Squire

Lights: Tyler Micoleau

Original Music and Sound Design: David Van Tieghem

Violence Consultant: J. David Brimmer

Casting: Telsey & Company

Production Manager: Erin Maureen Koster

Press Representative: Boneau/Bryan-Brown

Production Manager: Michael Wade

Associate Artistic Director: Christian Parker

General Manager: Jamie Tyrol

Assistant Stage Manager: Rhonda Picou

Presented by the Atlantic Theater Company

at the Classic Stage Company space

136 East 13th Street

Tickets: 212-279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com

Information: www.atlantictheater.org

Running Time: 95 minutes, no intermission

Closes: October 30, 2011

"The Family Room" -- Final Performances This Week

Producer Steve Margetis and Ethos Performing Arts proudly present the New York Premiere of The Family Room, a dramedy written by Emmy Award nominee Aron Eli Coleite and directed by Gwenyth Reitz. The Family Room runs through October 23, 2011 in a limited engagement at the ArcLight Theater, located at 152 West 71st Street between Broadway & Columbus Avenue in New York City. For more information on the play visit http://www.TheFamilyRoomNYC.com.

All fifteen-year-old David wants is to be a typical teenager, angry with everyone, especially his parents - two therapists who treat David like just another patient. But in this world even therapists have therapists, and with David’s rage mounting, and his parents’ marriage on the rocks, every member of the family finds themselves in treatment, and no one is getting any better. When David secretly tapes his father’s sessions with a troubled girl from David’s school and uses his knowledge to begin a budding romance – lives collide, therapists become patients, parents act like children and two teenagers must decide whether big problems can be solved by friendship alone. Heartbreaking, hilarious and perceptive, The Family Room, takes an incisive swipe at the dizzying revolving door of therapists in therapy, and the moments of true intimacy that stop us cold.

Aron Eli Coleite is an author of multiple works for the stage, screen and comic books. His background in theatre includes work as the Literary Manager, Dramaturg and ultimately, Artistic Director of Santa Monica’s Powerhouse Theatre Company. Coleite currently serves as a co-executive producer and writer on the new Oren Peli/Steven Spielberg TV series, The River, premiering on ABC in 2012. His prior television credits include Party of Five and the NBC crime drama Crossing Jordan. Most recently, he served as a writer/producer on the hit NBC series Heroes. For his work on Heroes, Coleite was nominated for an Emmy Award and won a People’s Choice, TV Land and Saturn Award. He is currently writing a pilot for a new CBS series to be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, a project for the Syfy Network with acclaimed television and theatre producer Bill Haber, and a feature film for 20th Century Fox. Coleite is known to comic book fans around the world for his work on Marvel’s Ultimate X-Men and creating the series Vice and The Covenant for Top Cow Comics.

The World Premiere of The Family Room was produced at The Powerhouse Theatre. The Los Angeles Times lauded The Family Room as “A searching new play about the psychiatric profession and its discontents. The play’s authentic outrage and raw irony can’t be stifled,” and Back Stage West praised the play, calling it “A clever slickly written drama. A game of psychological musical chairs.”

Gwenyth Reitz’ directing credits include a production of Macbeth for young audiences with Lincoln Center Theater, the new jalopy, a site-specific dance/theater work produced by Dance New Amsterdam as part of their Leading Ladies Series, Spare Change at the Soho Playhouse and Class Behavior with the Vital Theatre Company. Gwenyth has served for six years on the Theater Commissions panel with the New York State Council on the Arts and is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab.

The New York cast includes David M. Pincus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Theater for a New Audience at Lincoln Center, Joey’s Jive at MCC, Medea with Target Margin at St. Marks Ontological), Nancy Stone (Co-star on HBO’s Big Love, Embedded with The Actor’s Gang, Improv with Bay Area Theatersports), Jacqueline Sydney (The Kitchen Table - NYIT Award nominee Best Supporting Actress, Dear Harvey - 2010 FringeNYC Best Ensemble Acting Award), Jonathan Tindle (Bed Among The Lentils and Mrs. Warren’s Profession - Helen Hayes Award nominee, Full Moon Fables - SAG Peer Award for Best Actor, The Madness - NYIT Award nominee), Coco Medvitz (Collected Stories at Pennsylvania Center Stage, Richard III and As You Like It at Shakespeare Santa Cruz) and in their New York stage debut, Leah Barker and Tyler Lea.

The creative and production team consists of Jian Jung (Set Design), Jeanette Yew (Lighting Design), Amanda Seymour (Costume Design), Culley Johnson (Sound Design), Matthew Williamson (Assistant Director) and Shelby Taylor Love (Production Stage Manager).

Ethos Performing Arts, lead by Artistic Director Christos Alexandrou, is a not-for-profit organization based in New York City, promoting arts and culture. Ethos supports new writers and new projects by producing staged readings, organizing theatrical productions and musical concerts, and overseeing projects. For more information on the company visit http://www.EthosPerformingArts.org.

Performances are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm with an additional performance on Wednesday, October 19 at 8pm. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased online at http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006. Train access via the #1, 2, 3, B or C to 72nd Street.

Judges for The American Songbook Project’s “Name That Tune” Benefit Announced

Michael Estwanik, president and founder of The American Songbook Project, announced today the judging panel for the "Name That Tune" costume gala benefit to be held at the historic Hudson Theater on Friday, November 4, 2011. East Hampton's Guild Hall and Broadway composer Jerry Herman will be honored.

Chris March, the rotund star of Bravo's new show "Mad Fashion" and former designer on "Project Runway," has joined the committee led by five-time Tony-award winning costume designer Wm. Ivey Long. The other panelists include Emmy nominated Jane Kaczmarek, New York 1's Frank Dilella, Tara Rubin, and Cindy Hoddeson.

The hilarious annual fundraiser supports the musical programs provided by The American Songbook Project in city schools and community centers. Guests are encouraged to dress as a favorite song title and the winner will win a six-day vacation in the glamorous Principality of Monaco.

Ms. Kaczmarek is currently starring in two television shows, "Wilfred" and "Whitney." Mr. DiLella is the executive producer of "On Stage" on New York 1. Tara Rubin is a well known Broadway casting director and Ms. Hoddeson is the executive director of the Monaco Government Tourism Office.

The American Songbook Project was founded in 1999 as a charitable organization to preserve the heritage of American songs, to promote the art of live performance, and to present American popular songs in schools and community centers with the goal of educating and developing new audiences.

Aidan Killian's "Take The Red Pill" To Be Performed Tonight

In a time when protesters are occupying Wall Street and everybody is questioning our country’s financial system, Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit, TAKE THE RED PILL! for a special one night only engagement, Wednesday October 19 at UNDER St. Marks.

Why is everyone in debt? What is money? Didn't you now that all debts and mortgages are just an illusion!! Discover the hilarious truth with the debut show of one of Ireland’s most original and passionate comedians, Aidan Killian. Aidan quit being a banker at “Bear Stearns” to save this world through laughter "one endorphin at a time." Learn how Aidan dealt with his bankruptcy and removed his 'debt' from the banks with unexpectedly comic consequences. This show is original, powerful, and spiritual as well as being ridiculously funny. TAKE THE RED PILL! will open your mind and then blow it by revealing how the banks and courts are complete frauds as well as leaving you with sore cheeks and a happy smile on your face.

“The Red Pill show with its wonderful weave of topics is a work of comic genius. Killian’s Brilliantly crafted act is just the sort of intelligent comedy the world needs right now. Fantastic show – don’t miss it! ” Awaken Ireland

“Extraordinarily Talented!” Griffiti Magazine

“Ever zealous, quick-witted, great compare.” entertainment.ie

“Ireland’s answer to Bill Hicks.” The Common Law Society

Aidan Killian’s TAKE THE RED PILL! will be presented by Horse Trade Theater Group at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A) Wednesday, October 19 at 7pm. Tickets ($10) are available online at http://www.horsetrade.info/ or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

"Any Given Monday": Fast, Furious, Touching and Funny

Review by Judd Hollander

Photos by Carol Rosegg

File this one under "B" for "Black Comedy" and "H" for "Hilarious" as playwright Bruce Graham uses his work Any Given Monday to put a delightfully fresh spin on the family in crises storyline, while creating a world where political correctness goes by the boards, liberal guilt is examined and discarded, and the Machiavellian theme of the ends justifying the means has never rung so true. The play is presented by Act II Playhouse at 59E59 Theaters.

Public school teacher Lenny (Paul Michael Valley) is in a major funk. A normally quiet man, with an old-fashioned sense of values regarding courtesy, politeness, and respect, he finds his world upended when Risa (Hillary B. Smith), his wife of 24 years, leaves him for Frank, a wealthy man who designs Wal-Marts. With his left-leaning daughter Sarah (Lauren Ashley Carter) currently away at college, Lenny sits in front of the TV watching To Kill a Mockingbird until his friend Mickey (Michael Mastro) drops by.  Mickey, after literally bouncing off the walls, the result of too much coffee and not enough sleep, announces that he shot Frank in revenge for Frank ruining Lenny's marriage.

While at first Lenny and Sarah, the latter who has returned unannounced from school, are horrified at Mickey's confession, they soon begin to realize how they can use his actions to their own advantage. Lenny has rid himself, albeit indirectly, of a rival and thus might have a shot (no pun intended) at getting Risa back. Meanwhile, Sarah sees Mickey's actions as the basis for a thesis to help her get into graduate school. ("I have a degree in philosophy and I don't want to teach. I am so screwed.")

More than a play about a Jewish family in turmoil, Any Given Monday examines questions of right and wrong and what one should do when confronted with circumstances as described above. The black humor running throughout the show gives the entire work a sense of outrageousness as the audience is left wondering what will happen next, while at the same time rooting for the various characters to come through on the other side happy, hearty and, for the most part, unscathed.

It should be pointed out that while there is much humor present, there is also a great deal of drama and pain, as the playwright keeps coming back to the subject of family and the lengths people will go to keep what they have. From Sarah wondering about the annual family photo at the Passover dinner to Risa and Lenny trying to figure out what comes next, the need to hold onto something familiar and secure becomes paramount to them all.

Interestingly, it is Mickey who quickly becomes the moral center of the play. A grounded realist and a bit of a sociopath, he is also disarmingly politically incorrect, making his points not against minorities, though he does have a thing about homeless people (he works in the subway and gets annoyed when they jump in front of trains), but rather against the liberal elite, here personified by Sarah, who Mickey calls out more than once. Such as why it's okay to feel good about the death of a rich white guy, but be upset when a young black man, who's a habitual criminal, is shot by police after he first tries to kill the cops. Mickey also can't stand how America has turned into such a litigious society. His riff on a woman burned by hot coffee is brilliant. Mastro does a fantastic job with the role, at first showing Mickey as a seemingly unkempt leech of a man, but one soon revealed to be intelligent, methodical and quite protective of those he cares about. This is definitely a guy you'd like to hang out with in a bar, if not spend too much time with elsewhere.

Valley makes Lenny, perhaps the toughest role in the show, quite believable. The character at first being a sort of doormat, but also one who loves his wife dearly and who will do anything to get her back. Though when the opportunity presents itself, he begins to realize (with some prodding by Sarah and Mickey) that may not be what he truly wants. Valley also does well with a speech where he rails about changing values in society and how he's tired of always apologizing for being who he is.

Smith does very well as Risa, especially since she really doesn't interact with the rest of the cast until the final section of the play, but she's still able to explain realistically the reasons behind her affair and what she needs in a relationship with Frank, Lenny, or anyone else for that matter. It also helps that Smith and Valley have an excellent chemistry, making their scenes together that much more realistic.

Carter is good as Sarah, the young liberal who gets into arguments with her parents, classmates, friends and teachers over faith, human nature, the Holocaust and racial equality (her explanation as to why she has trouble with relationships is hilarious). A character who changes internally during the course of the play, the playwright also allows Sarah to get in some salient points of her own; such as that a well-to-do white man's death gets far more attention by the police than that of a poor member of a minority race.

Bud Martin's direction is strong, keeping the story moving nicely and the various characters off balance just enough to add to the overall feeling of uncertainty present in the script. The show does take a little while to get going and could use some tightening early on, but things pick up soon enough with everything seemingly about to go off the rails more than once, yet Martin and the cast keep the show firmly fixed on its ultimate course while making the entire experience both interesting and involving.

Dirk Durossette's set of Lenny and Risa's home is very good, giving it a nice lived-in but also clean look, at least in the beginning. Sound design by Jacob Subotnick, which includes a football game and dialogue from the afore-mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird, seamlessly fits into the proceedings. Lighting by Paul Miller is nicely subdued throughout.

Any Given Monday is a very enjoyable journey through the social foibles and excuses people make to justify their actions and feel better about themselves. Best of all, the characters presented are all quite endearing and you find yourself caring about what happens to them almost from the beginning. A good job by all.

Any Given Monday

Featuring: Lauren Ashley Carter (Sarah), Michael Mastro (Mickey), Hillary B. Smith (Risa), Paul Michael Valley (Lenny)

Written by Bruce Graham

Directed by Bud Martin

Scenic Design by Dirk Durossette

Lighting Design by Paul Miller

Costume Design by Bobby Pearce

Sound Design by Jacob Subotnick

Casting by Cindi Rush Casting

Strategic Marketing: AKA

Production Stage Manager: Kerri J. Lynch

Production Manager; Joshua Scherr

Associate Producer: The Active Theater

General Management Consultant: Dr Theatrical Management

Presented by Act II Playhouse at 59E59 Theaters (Theater B)
59East 59^th Street

Tickets: 212-279-4200 or www.ticeketcentral.com
Info: www.59E59.com, www.anygivenmondayplay.com

Running Time: 2 Hours, 10 minutes (including intermission)

Closes: November 6, 2011

The American Songbook Project to Honor Jerry Herman and East Hampton’s Guild Hall

The American Songbook Project, a non-profit organization that brings American music programs back into New York public schools, will honor legendary composer Jerry Herman and Guild Hall (East Hampton, NY) at their annual signature event "Name That Tune" on Friday, November 4, 2011 at the historic Hudson Theater in New York City.

"We are pleased to be honoring Jerry Herman who is one of Broadway's most successful composers (Hello Dolly, Mame, La Cage aux Folles and so many more) in his 80th birthday year," states TASP President and Founder Michael Estwanik. "Guild Hall is also celebrating its 80th year and we honor them for their excellence in presenting concerts featuring the American Songbook each season."

Committee members include award-winning Broadway producers Terry Allen Kramer, Jonathan Farkas, Jamie deRoy, and Pamela Laudenslager as well as stars Liza Minnelli, Brooke Shields, Kelli O'Hara, Greg Naughton, and Jane Kaczmarek.

"Name That Tune" is the charity's annual fundraising event. At this lively gala, guests are encouraged to wear a costume depicting a favorite song title and are judged by a celebrity panel of Broadway stars and fashion aficionados (the Grand Prize being a trip for 2 to Monte Carlo). There will be stage performances as well as a live auction of fabulous adventures around the world.

The American Songbook Project was founded in 1999 with the mission to preserve the heritage of American songs, to foster its artists,to promote the art of live performance with a special focus on classic and contemporary American music, and to present these songs and performances in New York schools and community centers.

For tickets, visit www.theamericansongbookproject.org.

The Public Theater Announces Final Line-Up for Upcoming Public Forum Events

Mike Daisey, Dan Lyons, and Robert Krulwich Assess "The Legacy of Steve Jobs" On October 23

Anne Hathaway To Host November 21 Public Forum

Sam Waterston Joins Discussion of "Does Culture Make Us Who We Are"

The Public Theater has announced the final line-up for its two upcoming fall Public Forum events.  The 2011-2012 Public Forum season will continue on October 23 with “The Legacy of Steve Jobs,” a provocative discussion with Mike Daisey, the creator and performer of The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs; Robert Krulwich, the science correspondent of NPR and co-host of Radiolab; and Dan Lyons, the technology editor at Newsweek Daily Beast and creator of “Fake Steve Jobs,” the persona behind the notorious tech blog The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. Single tickets, priced at $25, are on sale now.

On November 21, to coincide with The Public's production of King Lear, The Public Forum will explore the question “Does Culture Make Us Who We Are?” This dynamic evening, hosted by Academy Award-nominated actress Anne Hathaway, and presented in association with the Aspen Institute Arts Program, will feature David Brooks, Dr. Mary Schmidt Campell, Oskar Eustis, Sam Waterston, and Damian Woetzel.

The Forum began its second season last month with "The 9/11 Decade," an incisive look at the legacy of the World Trade Center attacks. Host Alec Baldwin led a conversation that featured the insights of Kurt Andersen, Carl Bernstein, and Richard Nelson, the writer and director of the play Sweet and Sad.

The popular series continues this fall on Sunday, October 23, at 7:00 p.m. in The Public’s Martinson Theater with "The Legacy of Steve Jobs." In The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Mike Daisey explores the way that Apple technology – and the vision of its leader, Steve Jobs – has reshaped our lives.  In the wake of Steve Jobs’s death, the Public Forum will consider the tech legend’s legacy: the way that our culture, the construction of our devices, and our relationships with one another have been affected.

Mike Daisey will be joined for this discussion by Robert Krulwich, the science correspondent of NPR and co-host of Radiolab; and Dan Lyons, the technology editor at Newsweek Daily Beast, who created “Fake Steve Jobs,” the persona behind the notorious tech blog The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs.  The conversation will be hosted by Jeremy McCarter, the director of The Public Forum.

On Monday, November 21 at 8:00 p.m., the third program in the fall Public Forum season draws its inspiration from Thomas Jefferson's remark that a sense of filial duty is better instilled by King Lear than all the volumes on ethics ever written. To coincide with The Public's production of Shakespeare's great tragedy, The Public Forum, in association with the Aspen Institute Arts Program, will ask: “Does Culture Make Us Who We Are?”

 This special event will be hosted by Anne Hathaway and will feature noted author and New York Times columnist David Brooks; Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, the Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts and the Vice-Chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities; Damian Woetzel, former principal dancer at New York City Ballet and the new Director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, and Sam Waterston, who is playing Lear in The Public’s upcoming production of King Lear. The evening will also feature remarks by Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis on the arts and our democracy. Tickets for “Does Culture Make Us Who We Are?” go on sale on Monday, October 24.

The Public Forum will continue in January with “Sondheim/Kushner.” In one of the highlights of The Public Forum’s inaugural season, Stephen Sondheim and Tony Kushner held a dazzling one-on-one conversation about their work, their inspirations, and the theatrical life. To mark the publication of the second volume of Sondheim’s memoir and lyric anthology, Look, I Made a Hat, Sondheim and Kushner will continue their conversation, with a special focus on the shows covered in the new book, including the masterful Sunday in the Park with George, the politically charged Assassins, and more. The Public Forum on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts will be hosted by Rocco Landesman, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Tickets for “Sondheim/Kushner” go on sale in late November.

PUBLIC FORUM TICKET INFORMATION Tickets for the “The Legacy of Steve Jobs” on Sunday, October 23 at 7:00 p.m. are $25 and are on sale now. Tickets for “Does Culture Make Us Who We Are?" on Monday, November 21 at 8:00 p.m. will go on sale on Monday, October 24. Tickets for the “Sondheim/Kushner” Public Forum on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts will go on sale in late November.  The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street and the box office number is (212) 967-7555. For more information, visit http://www.publictheater.org/.

"Southern Comfort" - A Polished and Nuanced Production

Review by Rob Hartmann

Southern Comfort (playing through October 29^th at CAP 21 Theatre Company) is a new musical adaption of Kate Davis’ award-winning 2001 documentary about the life and death of Robert Eads, a transgender man living in rural Georgia. This polished and nuanced production has the relaxed and comfortable feel of an off-Broadway hit enjoying a long run; the ensemble cast, lead by Annette O’Toole in a striking performance as Eads, creates a world that feels authentic, lived-in and familiar.

The musical (like the documentary) follows Eads in the last year of his life, from Easter through the following winter. Eads, diagnosed with ovarian cancer, found it difficult to find proper medical treatment, as doctors and hospitals claimed their other patients would be made uncomfortable by his presence.

Although the gradual progress of Eads’ illness provides the underlying tension, the musical does not wallow in sentimentality or anger. Instead, the smart and understated book and lyrics by Dan Collins chronicle the close-knit community of individuals surrounding Eads, detailing their family rituals and traditions in tiny Toccoa, Georgia. Robert sings in the opening sequence of a backyard Easter celebration:

Family’s an iceberg we ride into the sea

The parts that break away we gotta lose.

But it could melt entirely and I know I’ll still be

Kept above the water by the family I choose.

Jeff McCarthy (as Lola Cola, left)
and Annette O'Toole (as Robert Eads)
Photo by Matthew Murphy

At the Easter gathering, Robert has invited his new girlfriend, Lola Cola, to meet his “chosen family”, who gather every Sunday: transman Cas and his wife, Stephanie (Todd Cerveris and Robin Skye); and Maxwell, a young transman (the impish Jeffrey Kuhn) who has a sometimes-testy father-and-son relationship with Robert. Lola (played by Urinetown’s Jeff McCarthy, in a sharp performance which evokes a mixture of Allison Janney and Anjelica Huston with a basso Kathleen Turner voice), is less comfortable in her own skin than the others. In one of the standout songs of the evening, “Bird”, Lola sings of her desire to escape her masculine frame and deep voice, as she strips away her women’s attire to resume her everyday male identity, John, proprietor of a heating-and-cooling repair shop.

In the song, McCarthy duets with a member of the band, Lizzie Hagstedt (also playing bass), whose pure soprano is what Lola wishes her own voice could be. Hagstedt and three other actor-musicians (Allison Briner on percussion, David M. Lutken on guitar and Joel Waggoner on violin) function as singing storytellers, occasionally stepping into the story in the roles of outsiders (primarily medical personnel and estranged parents – including standout work from Briner and Lutken as Eads’ mother and father, who stubbornly call him by his birth name, Barbara.) Astonishingly, they all play the score from memory (led by music director and pianist Emily Otto.)

As time passes, Lola becomes part of the circle, while Maxwell finds a girlfriend of his own, transwoman Cori.  As the group prepares to attend Southern Comfort, the annual Atlanta transgender conference, conflict arises between Robert and Maxwell over the younger man’s decision to pursue phalloplasty – what the characters refer to as “the bottom surgery.” The script delves into the conflicting opinions surrounding the procedure without becoming didactic.

ROBERT: This is crazy.  We always agreed that man or woman was about what’s in your heart and your head, not between your legs.

MAXWELL: Then why’d we start takin’ testosterone?  Why’d we get the top surgery? 

ROBERT: That’s just about bein’ able to function out in the open as who we are without gettin’ ourselves killed. We gotta pass.

MAXWELL: Well, I want to pass more.

ROBERT: So what does that make me?

MAXWELL: Ain’t about you, it’s about me.

ROBERT: Like Hell it ain’t about me.  You think what’s happenin’ to me – my cancer –  is just Barbara eatin’ me up inside cuz I ain’t real.

Being ‘real’ and what that means is one of the central themes of the story: in the CAP21 space, the audience surrounds the stage – throughout the evening, you are aware of watching the audience watch the performers. This awareness adds an extra layer of tension to the performance – underlining the constant stress the characters are under to “pass.”   Unlike some film-to-stage adaptations, the piece reveals itself to be innately theatrical because it is so much about the actors’ performance of gender, in every variation. This aspect of the show is distilled in the joyous and energetic second act song “Walk the Walk”, when Cori (a luminous Natalie Joy Johnson) leads a seminar on ‘Sensual Feminine Movement’ at Southern Comfort:

Cuz a girl ain’t what she’s wearin’

And a boy ain’t how he’s born.

You’re the moves you make n’ they gotta take you

Past the things you’ve worn

Cuz what a body is or not

Is just a whole lot a’ talk

You gotta walk the walk.

Annette O'Toole (as Robert Eads)
Photo by Matthew Murphy

The cast’s work is subtle, detailed and completely believable. Annette O’Toole, perhaps most widely known for her role as Martha Kent on Smallville, throws herself into the role of Robert Eads in a fearless and full-bodied performance. Her voice, throaty and clear, is well-suited to composer Julianne Wick Davis’ folk and bluegrass score. Davis, also responsible for orchestration, builds interesting instrumental textures, and sensuous, layered vocal harmonies. The music is at times restrained, at times soaring, finding rhythmic complexity in the folk idiom. Occasionally the density of the text setting makes lyrics difficult to catch on first hearing, but the joy of hearing natural, unforced and unmiked voices in the intimate space is worth losing a word or two here and there. Davis makes clever use of vocal ranges, often placing male and female voices in unison.

Robin Skye (as Stephanie, left)
and Todd Cerveris (as Cass)
Photo by Matthew Murphy

The costumes, by Patricia E. Doherty, instantly define character in their bulls-eye specificity, from Robert’s western-cut leather jacket with bolo tie to Lola’s Talbot’s-pantsuit ensembles; the warmly humorous Robin Skye as Stephanie wears Wal-mart pharmacy eyeglass frames exactly right for a particular type of Southern trailer-park gal whose culinary specialty is Snickers salad (“Snickers, green apples, cool whip and vanilla puddin’.  Secrets in the puddin’.  It’s gotta be instant!”) The hair and wig design by David Brian Brown, along with April Schuller’s makeup design, bring the characters to fully realized life, while never veering into Southern-eccentric caricature. The hair and makeup work comes into play in one small but moving moment when Cas (the low-key and affecting Todd Cerveris) shaves off his beard, as he prepares to visit the family who only know him as their daughter Debbie.

The set, by James J. Fenton, transforms the small CAP21 black box into Robert’s weathered porch and backyard. Shelves illuminated by small sconces filled with curios and bric-a-brac line the walls: closer inspection reveals that the objects are totems of masculinity and femininity (a toy truck, a ‘Skipper’ doll carrying case, a tobacco can.) In one subtle effect, the sconces light up during Robert’s song about his childhood, “Barbara”, illuminating actual photos of Robert Eads as a young girl.  (Careful observers will also spot a small photo of Eads as you enter the theater.)

The beautifully textured lighting design, by Ed McCarthy, manages to depict not only the Georgia sun in every seasonal variation from summer to winter, but also the unforgiving harshness of blue-white hospital lights for several crucial sequences.

Thomas Caruso’s fluid direction nimbly handles the script’s shifts from naturalistic scenes to documentary-style direct address, to the more abstract moments when the musicians enter the story as peripheral characters. The pace is leisurely at times, but does not drag: Caruso trusts that the small, nuanced moments of the story will hold our interest (which they do), and does not try to rush the story unduly.

Southern Comfort is also very funny: bookwriter Collins deftly punctuates the script with sly humor that feels true to the characters. The script handles the more emotional moments skillfully, never descending into oversentimentality or cliché. The show stealthily builds to an emotional climax: a substantial percentage of the audience was reaching for tissues to dab at suddenly-moist eyes. The message of Southern Comfort is universal and simple:

            Down with living your life under there.

            Up with spring.

            Oh, spring up everywhere.

With Southern Comfort, CAP21 continues their tradition of presenting intelligent and moving new musicals. One hopes that this production will find the backing it needs to make the transition to an open-ended run. This is a powerful evening.

Southern Comfort runs through October 29 at the CAP21 Black Box Theater, 18 West 18th Street. Show times are Wednesday-Saturday at 7 PM.

Tickets are $18 and are available through OvationTix or online at http://www.cap21.org/.

Rob Hartmann Talks to Sheri Sanders of "Rock The Audition"

By Rob Hartmann

A conversation with Sheri Sanders about adventures in reality television, NYMF, and telling the truth through music.

After reviewing her book, Rock the Audition: How To Prepare For and Get Cast In Rock Musicals, I was interested to hear more about Sheri Sanders’ work and point of view on music and theater. She starred in the pilot My Time which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network in September, and is currently appearing in Rock the Audition In Concert as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival [Ed. note: Rock the Audition in Concert was cancelled due to illness]. We met last month while Sheri was rehearsing for a reading of a new show: I ordered the fish and chips; she had the sautéed spinach.

RH: So you have a reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. How did that come about?

SS: So this is what happened. Backstage heard about my rock class – this great guy named David Finkle came to the rock class, and he was totally overwhelmed by it, by everything I was doing. And it was funny because, he’s a guy who’s been reviewing and writing about theater for years, but he was overwhelmed because I was tapping into all these crazy things in this room. And the article he wrote was overwhelmed. He literally tried to describe everything that went on in that room. Anybody who read it was like, this is a little much, this interview, because he just tried to tell everybody everything. But after that came out, I got a phone call from the Oprah Winfrey Network, and they said, “Listen, we read your article and we want you to come in for an interview. We’re doing a new reality TV show and we’re interested in you to create the pilot” – based upon this totally overwhelmed interview.

So I came in, and they said, “All right, here’s the deal. We’re interviewing a bunch of teachers who do different things. The idea is that we would pick you, potentially, and you would get a subject, and you would have to transform their lives in five weeks.”  So they would, say, give me somebody who always wanted to be a performer, but never got a chance to. And then I’d have five weeks to turn them into a professional performer. So I had three on-camera interviews, and then Oprah hand-picked me and this other woman. And we created the pilot. I shot it a year and a half ago. [My Time premiered on the OWN Network on September 25^th.]

Have you ever seen the show Made on MTV? So maybe there’s a kid that nobody’s friends with, and he’s like, “I want to be the prom king.” So he gets a “prom king coach.” And then they have the prom and make him the prom king, and everybody’s like, “You’re amazing!” And all the girls are like, “You’re cuuute.” And that’s the show. So – it’s the same producers, but the reason why it got accepted onto the Oprah Winfrey Network as opposed to being another show on MTV or even VH1, is because when you have a grown adult who has always wanted something, as opposed to a thirteen year old who wants something, they have all these years of sabotage mechanisms built in. So my subject was a woman who wanted to be a jazz singer, but her life had been too difficult.  So that made for exquisite television.  

I basically went in and said, all right – I’m going to give you all the right steps to be a performer. She doesn’t know how it works, she just wants to go someplace where she’s onstage and there’s some sort of a producer in the audience who says, “Yeah, you’ve got what it takes!”

But I had to give her all of the necessary steps. Like, number one: how to communicate with a musician. How to listen. How to express yourself. I had to teach her all of the steps it took so that when we did do a performance, the performance wasn’t just about her, it was about how to be with other people. It was about how to listen and communicate, how to find your uniqueness. What’s special about you? And how does that come through your music?

It was everything I teach – how to communicate with a pianist. How to treat your piano player with respect and dignity – how to understand that that person is the most important person, not you.

I called in a whole bunch of different people to help. That was one of my challenges– which people do I pull in to give her the most well rounded training? It went from teaching her basics on the piano – to taking her to a Meisner class. The acting class was to teach her how to be impulsive with another person but present, noticing what they’re giving her and responding authentically. I gave her a Harlem jazz tour, we talked to the head of booking at Dizzy’s – we did a bunch of cool different things to give her a clear picture of everything that’s involved. And Janice Lowe – you remember Janice?

RH: Of course. [Composer Janice Lowe is a graduate of the NYU Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.]

SS: I had Janice come in and write a song with her, because she’s such a great jazz writer. They wrote a beautiful song together. I’m in the Broadway gospel choir, Broadway Inspirational Voices, so I brought her to rehearsal, to teach her about dynamics.

I taught her that it’s not about the result – it’s about all the exciting things that happen when you put care and detail into things. So that’s what that is.

RH: Talking about putting care and detail into things - let’s talk about your concert in the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

SS: The concert is October 11^th, 12^th and 13^th. It’s basically my rock class, but I sing instead of having other people sing. I do a very, very loose story on how I figured what popular music was to people emotionally, and why it’s valuable. And for me it started through listening to Lite FM with my mother in the car. I talk about it in the beginning of the book.

So I start with that, and then I make it more personal: how, when I started to research different artists, I started to find out more about myself. And because I did that, so many things happened to me artistically and professionally. It poses a question: I wonder what would happen to you if you took the time as an actor to study the eras and how people were expressing themselves and why it matters. Think about the empathy and the consciousness and the point of view that you could build inside of yourself – while now you’re generic because you were told in college, oh, you’re an ingénue. And it made you generic. Think about what would happen to you.

RH: I’ve never seen people so terrified as when they have to go to a rock audition or pop audition. It just makes -

SS: It makes people twitch. It’s petrifying –

RH: - in the same way that stand-up freaks people out, because it’s you, it’s not something else.

SS: Yes – you can’t hide in anything. But when actors run around saying, “Nobody’s hiring me, I feel like nobody sees me, I feel like I go to these auditions and I feel like I’m one of five hundred and I’m no different than anybody else to these people” – well, why? Don’t blame the people behind the table. I mean, yes, they’re not really looking at you, they’re overwhelmed, they’re not really looking. But trust me when I say, something will happen and they will look up when they hear and see you making choices.

RH: It’s about  -  who are you, and what do you have to say?

SS: Yes. What do you have to say, and why is the way you say it important?

RH: I think there’s something similar with writers – wanting to hide in something, or feeling the terror of being specific and personal rather than generic. I remember one of my composer students [at NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program] coming up to me one time and saying, “Well, this is all fine, but I want to write something really commercial.” And I asked, well, what’s ‘commercial?’ “Well, you know, something people really like.” I asked, what do you think people like? And he started naming off titles of currently running shows. So I said, okay, if you started writing today – let’s assume that that hypothesis is correct, that if I go to see Hairspray, that I’ll want to see ‘imitation Hairspray’ next door – let’s even assume that that’s right. If you start today, it’s going to be five years before you finish, and guess what? The world will have moved along in five years, and what you might feel in your soul might be the exact thing we need to hear then. But you wrote ‘imitation Hairspray’ because that was popular five years ago.

It comes from fear – “What I have to say isn’t good enough, I better imitate this other thing.”

SS: It’s like watching a YouTube video and copying one of the singers as opposed to finding your own interpretation.

RH: I think we so devalue our own points of view – it’s because, we live inside it. It’s like a fish in water – we don’t see our own point of view, because we’re living it constantly. We don’t understand that we actually crave stories from one another. Why do we want to hear someone else tell a story? Because we want to hear their spin on it. We know ourselves too well – we’re no longer remarkable to ourselves, so we think “How can I be remarkable to anyone else?” But we do want to hear that story – that truth.

It’s trying to get to the point when you can make a connection and talk about the truth as you see it, and let that be enough. 

SS: That’s really what I’m saying with the concert.  It’s just what listening to pop music and studying pop culture did to me as a human being and as an artist. And what it could do for you.

RH: Which is huge.

SS: Which is huge.

Rob Hartmann is a composer/lyricist/bookwriter on the faculty at New York University’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program. Sheri Sanders is a performer, teacher and author.

Review by Sacha Tengler

The Brain That Wouldn't Die! In 3-D!!! is a musical spoof of the 1962 film "The Brain That Wouldn't Die," a sci-fi flick "so bad it's good."  The original film, made on a shoestring budget, delved into themes such as medical ethics (a doctor's experimentation with the burgeoning science of transplantation drives the plot), and features many moments of operatic drama, making it a natural for musicalization.  It is also so absurd (and badly directed) that it is a natural for parody, and here arrives just that musical parody, in the tradition of such pieces as Little Shop of Horrors and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The Brain... is receiving a top-notch NYMF production making a strong case for it to enjoy a longer life.  The A-list cast, superbly directed by Tim Drucker, gives an unusually strong ensemble performance, and the creative and design elements add up to a textbook example of how best to present a show on a NYMF-type budget. 

The music by T. Sivak, performed to perfection by a sizzling rock trio led by the energetic Annbritt DuChateau, is at its best when edgy, chromatic, and delightfully moody.  The comedic tone of the book is a bit scattered, however, and as a result of this, there are occasional longueurs, as well.

Fortunately, a production this strong should provide the writers with a great look at their show, and allow them to make the few judicious cuts to sharpen the satirical elements at play here.  There is a framing device, introduced in an opening number (perhaps meant in the tradition of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd") that could be seriously truncated -- the opening number is too long, and the framing device doesn't precisely work yet.

Further, songs like "My Dick!" a '50s-style doo-wop song making excessive fun of a characters' name being Dick (one of several running jokes throughout) digress from the story, have nothing to do with the original film, and become overly long musical genre pieces.  The writers have ladled on every style of comedy but the kitchen sink; I wish its methods were more focused. 

The show is at its best and funniest when the characters, so expertly drawn by this fine cast, play it straight, rather than commenting on the story.  In other words, it's hovering between the model of Little Shop (in which the characters are honest and real, and the humor is genuine) and that of Rocky Horror (which is pure camp), and I wish they would zero in on the former.  I would love to get my hands on the script, because there is nothing that needs to be added -- but some heartless cutting could strengthen it immensely. 
Great ingenuity has gone into the modest scenic elements, making the show seem uniquely suited to the low-budget requirements of a festival production.  A scene leading up to pivotal car crash is great fun, partly because of the way simple cut-outs are used to tell the story.  The sound design was strong as well, as each lyric was heard and the drama of the music was driving and balanced.  Lighting also used spare means to lend just the right atmosphere.  Overall, The Brain... is a great success, and I hope this twisted and very funny show finds a wider audience and finds even more edge and laughs in its next incarnation.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die! In 3D!!!

Book and Lyrics by T. Sivak and E. Gelman
Music by T. Sivak

at TBG Theater (312 W. 36th Street)

Thursday, Oct 6th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, Oct 9th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Sunday, Oct 9th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Monday, Oct 10th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Wednesday, Oct 12th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Friday, Oct 14th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, Oct 16th, 2011 at 1:00 pm

This Month's Title Photo

This month's title photo comes from Rachel Klein’s The Tragedy of Maria Macabre, a dance piece which will be performed at the Wild Project (195 East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B) October 20-30; Thursday through Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm.  This striking photo is by Beau Alluli.

Megan O'Conner & Eric Schmalenberger in The Tragedy of Maria Macabre
Photo by Beau Alluli

The Tragedy of Maria Macabre is a theatrical dance piece inspired by 19th century European Circus imagery, silent horror films, and el Dia de los Muertos. The story begins at the end of the life of our twisted heroine, Miss Macabre. Upon dying, Maria Macabre is not granted eternal slumber, but instead a whirling, kaleidoscopic carnival of horrors: a morbid funhouse where humanity is stripped away and a permanent place in the gruesome chorus line is all but assured. Arriving in the land of the dead, Maria Macabre is greeted by the King and the Queen of the Dead, and many other ghoulish Hades-Dwellers including a maniacal Ringmistress, a Beauty Queen burnt to a crisp, a menacing French Clown, and three skeletal Mariachis.

Video trailer: http://vimeo.com/28088659

We Have a New Intern!

I am pleased to welcome our new fall intern, Anthony Host.  Anthony will be with us for the rest of the year, at which point he will be moving to New York and joining those of us who are slaves to our love of theatre.

So here is a little bit about Anthony, in his own words.

Hello all! My name is Anthony James Host. I am a 22 year old former college theatre major… I actually turn 23 on October 21st.  Let’s see…a little bit about myself.  Well, I have loved theatre, not to mention film and classic television, ever since I was very young. I started acting in local productions when I was seven (I am from Morgantown, WV… most famous for being home of WVU) and I continued to act into high school and college. I also played several percussion instruments for years, but have set aside that part of my life in the last few years. I am known as the movie/theatre/TV Wikipedia amongst my friends (though I don’t agree as I am sure many of you readers know more than I do) as I just love to research and talk about anything artsy with anyone who shows the slightest bit of interest. Theatre is my favorite of the three and I just love being onstage and visiting NYC whenever I can (I actually hope to move there early next year!!). My primary interests are acting/singing and playwriting… I hope to get more of my writing off the ground, but it has been harder for me lately. A lot of my passion for theatre came when I saw the original Broadway production of Ragtime back in 1998… I was only ten years old, but it remains a vivid memory to do this day. The spectacle and the story and the absolutely stunning Ahrens/Flaherty score just swept me up, and to this day, it can still make me cry. Many other shows have boosted my love more so over the years, particularly those of (as cliché as it may be) Stephen Sondheim and William Finn. I also quite love Maury Yeston and the writing team of Bock & Harnick. As for my personal life, I am a very shy individual depending on who I am around, but I love helping others. Right now, I work as a call center agent for United Health Care to make it by until I move. I live with my beautiful girlfriend/partner Jamie and we have been together for almost two and a half years now, and I love her dearly. I guess if anyone wants to know more about me, you can ask away! Look me up on here or on Facebook! Much love and I am excited to be a part of this website…. plus, much thanks to Byrne, Rob Hartmann, Jamie Clegg, Jeffrey Ingman, and Elizabeth Wotring-Nelson for everything you have done for me!

"The Weight of Water": Buoyant and Beautiful

Review by Greg Waagner

The sound of water is not unusual on Cape Cod.   There’s the sound of the waves on the shore,  a sprinkler in the garden,  the battering rain of an all-out nor’easter against the windows.  Those are all lively sounds of water, and not at all the sound theatre patrons are met with when they enter the Provincetown Theater for Myra Slotnick’s new play, The Weight of Water.    This sound is a heavy, lifeless one.   It is the sound of standing water lapping idly against steps or walls where it does not belong,  water that must be waded through.   Water in which…things …are floating.

On stage before us we see the battered and broken remnants of a home, still wet with receding flood water, a high water line of mold beginning to form on the debris of ruined furniture and books and appliances.  The scene is illuminated in saturated color:  the green of nausea, the purple of a bruise, the orange-gold of a baking sun.   Only as the lights fade to black does one realize they are also the green, purple and gold of Mardi Gras.   A blast of raucous jazz confirms we are in New Orleans, at a time when far too many saints went marching in.   It is nine days after Miss Katrina.

We first meet the Musician, played by Linda Daniels, who sets the scene and plays a sort of framing sequence/chorus role throughout the show.   She’s a resident of the city of New Orleans, but also its free spirit, it’s wild musical heart, and she guides us through the evening, seasoning it with bits of story and song.

This particular disaster zone on the stage before us is the St Bernard’s Parish home of widow Pearl Haynes,  who has survived the hurricane landfall and subsequent levee failure.   As we meet Pearl – portrayed comfortably by Geany Masai – she presents a brave face and steady faith, reflecting on the past as she mops at the water on her kitchen floor and worries for her missing cat.   It’s hard to imagine anyone enduring the onslaught that has brought her home to looking this way.  Flashback scenes introduce Pearl’s late, hard-drinking musician husband, Emery and we realize that Katrina is only the latest challenge in Pearl’s life, and before much longer, we see it’s not the last, either.

Having survived a devastating visit by the forces of Nature, Pearl must now face a home invasion of another kind in the form of rescue worker Finch, who breaks down the door to get inside to save her; a saving Pearl is not at all sure she wants or needs.  Andrew Clemons’ Finch is a nervous bundle of helpless energy,  an out-of-work actor from L.A. who’s come to Louisiana to help, only to find he’s less capable of doing so than he imagined.   “Is this your first disaster?” Pearl asks of him, and as his story pours out, it appears that Pearl will need to rescue him instead of the other way ‘round.

As Finch brings news to Pearl of what’s been happening in NOLA since the storm , the audience is reminded of the helplessness and horror of watching the disaster unfold on the television.  His accounts of the horrors of the Superdome seem to shake Pearl’s faith and understandably so:  she tells him she sent her pregnant daughter to shelter there.  Finch’s – and the also the Musician’s - witness brings back in searing detail some of the particulars we’ve so eagerly forgotten in six years.

Despite the “heavy” nature of the play’s subject matter - or more likely as welcome antidote to it - Slotnick’s script makes comic gold of the conflict between Finch’s bumbling ineptness and Pearl’s calm self-assuredness, particularly in the first act.   The introduction of Finch’s rescue partner, Natalie (Jamie Heinlen), changes the tone of things a bit in Act Two and we’re reminded there’s far more to a person than what they choose for the world to see.   Rescuers can be Scavengers, a Hardass can be Vulnerable, the Drunk can be Responsible, the Criminal might just be a Victim and the Truth is rarely what its purported to be. 

Reactions to the stress of a disastrous situation bring out the best and the worst in people – all the good and bad things at once - and as Slotnick explores this human landscape, perhaps she helps us to see that its not so much what Life gives to us, but what we make of what we are given that determines ultimately whether one sinks or floats.

The Weight of Water is blessed with a talented and delightful cast all around, each fitting just right against the next ; however  particular notice goes to  Keith Amato’s brief but heart-renching portrayal of The Man, which continues to haunt after the show’s conclusion.  

Technical praise goes to the light and sound designers for Water, Mike Steers and Jeffrey Billard, who eclipse the sun streaming through Pearl’s damaged roof with a passing helicopter and make the audience believe there’s six feet of stagnant water backstage. 

Every good show succeeds on the often-invisible work of its director, and David Drake surely earns mad props for blending all aspects of this world premiere production in just the right way.

You’ll be sorry if you miss this.

The Weight of Water is presented Thursday through Sunday, October 13 – 16, 2011, at 7:30 pm.

The Provincetown Theater is located at 238 Bradford Street, Provincetown MA.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for students and seniors.     Call (508) 487-7487 or visit www.provincetowntheater.com for more information.