Review: ‘Kingdom Come’, the modern take on “catfishing”

You probably remember “Catfish”, a 2010 documentary about the guy Nev Schulman who meets a girl named Megan on Facebook and falls in love with her, only to realize that she is a fictional character and somebody else is maintaining her online profile and their romantic relationship. The documentary later developed into a reality TV show on MTV and followed other people and their online dating adventures for 5 seasons (November 2012 – February 2016).

The term “catfish”, referring to a person who creates a fake online profile in order to trick others into a relationship, spread across the Internet and now made its way to the theater. The new play by Jenny Rachel Weiner, “Kingdom come”, currently on stage of the Roundabout’s Black Box Theatre, presents us with a romantic comedy about the drama of online dating.

photo by Joan Marcus

Samantha’s obesity became a medical condition when we meet her, reclining on her bed. She leaves her comforting fortress just a handful of times during the show, making each of these times a dramatic ballet of hope and despair.  Carmen M. Herlihy, in enormous fat suit is great as Samantha and, even though she doesn’t move around much, she is very animated and lively. I never even thought that an actor’s feet can convey such a wide range of emotions! Sami spends much of her time watching TV. But then she discovers an even more exciting way to live the lives of others; online dating. Sami adopts the personality of Dominick, her caregiver’s handsome son, and off she goes rocking the world of ladies on the Internet.

Layne (Crystal Finn) is 33, works at an insurance office, and has no one to talk to. One night Layne, a mousy loner, befriends Suz (Stephanie Styles), a 23-year-old dumb but pretty office secretary, and gets advice to try online dating. After a few awkward encounters, she stumbles upon KingDOMCom42, a pastry chef from California, who just gets her. Ashamed of her own boring personality, Layne comes up with a new identity for herself; an adventurous stewardess Courtney.

The two hit it off. The physical reality, created by the set designer Arnulfo Maldonado, steps aside as the video projection design, by Darrel Maloney, fills the space. As the two actresses talk to each other, laptop in hands, gaze staring in front of them, we see their live chat in two screen windows above their heads. But when they get intimate or are about to have a fight, the entire room changes into a landscape of a virtual reality, a very simple and poetic idea.

The ensemble of five characters is the most unlikely company you will find in a play. The three young ladies are joined by a caregiver, Delores (Socorro Santiago), and her son, Dominick (Alex Hernandez). At some point, all five of them even end up in the same room together. “Kingdom Come” is a play full of heart, laughter, and surprises where you genuinely can’t predict what is going to happen to these people.

I wasn’t quite sure why the director, Kip Fagan, chose to emphasize the comedic element in the characters to such a strong degree: Delores seemed way too happy and optimistic all the time, while Layne’s neuroticism was a bit over the top. And finally, Suz was a mere “young secretary sleeping with the married boss” caricature. Fagan’s work with set space also remains questionable. “Sami’s apartment” set had to be multiple things, which is fine, theater viewers are ready for all kind of conventions. But when Suz appeared from a closet, sliding a mirrored door as if it was a door into her house I couldn’t help but chuckle.  

‘Kingdom Come’ runs in Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre at 111 W. 46th St, Midtown Manhattan until December 18th. Tickets are $25 and are available by reaching the ticket services (212.719.1300) or on the Roundabout’s website  

Review: home, sweet home(osexual) of ‘Falsettos’

Originally produced on Broadway in 1992 based on the book by James Lapine and William Finn, music and lyrics by Finn, "Falsettos" is back on stage of the Walter Kerr Theater. The first production was nominated for the Tony Award in seven categories and won two of them: Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. The 2016 revival, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, has a good chance to score again with its brilliant cast and direction by James Lapine.  

   

photo by Joan Marcus

The story is set in 1979 and 1981 and features a New York "modern family" of the time – Marvin (Christian Borle), his ex-wife Trina (Stephanie J. Block), his lover Whizzer (Andrew Rannells), and his son Jason (Anthony Rosenthal): "very Jewish, very middle-class". Marvin and Trina, and later their 10-year old son, all see the same psychiatrist, Mendel, whom Trina marries after divorcing her gay husband. A lesbian couple next-door, Dr. Charlotte (Tracie Thoms) and Cordelia (Betsy Wolfe) join the company in the second act to help move the family drama to a much large scale.  

"Falsettos" is a wild mix of campy silliness and painful reality. Lapine and Finn take the audience on a rollercoaster ride full of unexpected twists and loops. The journey starts with “Four Jews in a Room Bitching” with the four male stars of the show dressed in colorful, “biblical times” outfits. With their canes, wigs and beards they break the ice as though with napalm. So much so that I hear the “noise” of this blast long after Trina collects their costumes in a laundry basket and the company moves onto singing about the unusual circumstances of their family life.

Marvin wants to have it all: a family and a lover. Young Jason seems frustrated by the family dynamic and only wants to play chess. Trina is “breaking down” in her solo number in the kitchen, tying to channel the annoyance at her ex and romantic feelings to her psychiatrist into cooking. Stephanie J. Block swings the knife like a maniac, playing the housewife’s nervous meltdown on the edge of hilarious and terrifying.

Camp reaches its peak in the number “March of the Falsettos” towards the end of the first act. The four male characters of the play are dressed in white tennis outfits with neon-orange stripes and matching sneakers. The outfits are complete with sunglasses and hats topped with little propellers. The number is sung mostly in hi-pitch voices accompanied by “robot arms” choreography. Oh, and everything is happening under the florescent light.

The set designer, David Rockwell, honored the minimalism of the original production but executed it in his own way. As members of the audience enter, they see a grey cube in the middle of the stage consisting of modules a-la 3D Tetris. Performers use these modules as chars, tables, and entryways, resembling the way characters are trying to build a house and a family. Some impressive constructions were created out of these grey blocks, the only real pieces of furniture being the setting of a hospital room.    

The first act seems like a coherent story by itself and that is no coincidence. Music, lyrics and the book were written by William Finn as a one-act musical “March of the Falsettos” and premiered in 1981 at the off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons theater. A 1979 one-act musical by Finn, “Trousers”, was the first in a trilogy centered on the immediate and extended family of Marvin. The series was completed in 1990 with “Falsettoland”, with music and lyrics by Finn and book by Lapine, which became a second act of the Broadway “Falsettos”.  

“Falsettos” looks much like a creation of its time – camp and AIDS were probably the most common associations with gays in the end of the 80s/beginning of the 90s. But, not only does it gives a historic prospective to those who weren’t around at that time, it’s also an incredibly heartwarming story of a family who tries to stay together through it all.          

“Falsettos” opened on October 27^th and will run until January 8^th at the Walter Kerr Theater. Tickets are available by phone at Ticketmaster (800-982-2787) and at the box office. For information, tickets and more visit http://www.lct.org/shows/falsettos/