Review: ‘The Layover’; sex, lies and strangers on the plane

Two strangers meet on a plane waiting to take off from Chicago’s O’Hare on a snowy Thanksgiving night. The romantic flame between a college professor, Shellie (Annie Parisse), and an engineer, Dex (Adam Rothenberg), sparks immediately and nobody seems to be overly disappointed when the flight gets canceled. The layover becomes a romantic affair with a backdrop of snow falling over the tarmac.

photo by Joan Marcus

The prelude leading to the hotel room resembles one of a thousand romantic comedies set on the cusp of Thanksgiving/Christmas/Saint Valentine’s Day. ‘The Layover’ covers all three holidays while adding a couple of dark twists to the story of two lonely souls trying to connect. The romantic comedy quickly turns to psychological drama with elements of erotic thriller thrown into it.  

Playing with different genres seems like an interesting idea but it didn’t quite come together in this play. More and more characters appear (8 characters played by 6 actors total) with the solemn purpose to push the plot forward. Whether it’s the uneven writing or the underwhelming stage direction of Trip Cullman, but none of what’s happening seems realistic or relatable. At least the chemistry between Annie Parisse and Adam Rothenberg is good, particularly in two mirror scenes in the hotel room. But before you get to the first of them, you need to sit through three lengthy “talking heads” scenes.              

The “getting to know each other” part is long and not particularly grabbing. The dialogues are supposed to be funny and sharp (as promised by reviewers praising Leslye Headland’s writing talent). The playwright spreads the peacock tail of her wit and, through characters flirting with each other, is desperately trying to win over the audience. Dex stumbles and shies away from the flirty and confident Shellie while she seems to know exactly what she wants and is aggressively approaching it. Individual loud bursts of laughter are heard in the audience, so at least somebody is into it.

What began as a romantic adventure quickly becomes the story of dysfunctional relationships and attempts at escaping into a “romantic dream”. I got to give it to Headland, she succeed in creating characters whose lives are a constant seesaw between imaginary worlds and reality. Everybody is trying to hide from the truth in the fairytale-like narrative they create for themselves; whether it’s a “42 year old micromanaging her own wedding” while the relationship with her fiancé is cracking apart, or another 42 year old woman who once pretended that she is somebody else entirely.

      

The layered scenic design by Mark Wendland looks stunning and accommodates the action, which sometimes runs in two places at once. Glass panels slide up and down, creating different configurations depending on where we are. The gradual opening of more and more space is a visual representation of the structure of the play: as we move on we discover the true identities of the duplicitous characters. The lighting design by Japhy Weideman completes the set architecture by throwing colored shapes on the glass walls. The video design by Jeff Sugg features dreamily blurry window views of the airport and series of looped shots from 50s’ black and white movies.

‘The Layover’ produced by Second Stage Theatre is running through September 18^th. Schedule and tickets are available here.

Review: ‘The Tempest’, all female, mostly naked

‘The Tempest’ by Torn Out Theater is not your ordinary “Shakespeare in the open air” production. Like some of the similar projects around the city, from Public’s Shakespeare in Central Park to Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, the Torn Out Theater’s shows are free (donations are accepted in the end) and take place outside. What sets them apart from everybody else is the fact that the all-female cast performs nude. Well, to be specific, the islanders – humans and spirits are fully nude or painted with the body paint. The arrived royals are fully dressed in the beginning; some of them end up fully nude in the end.     

Photo by Charles Ardai, May 2016

Set on a remote Island, ‘The Tempest’ tells the story of the magician Prospero and his young, beautiful daughter Miranda. Twelve years ago, Antonio, Prospero’s’ brother, exiled his sibling from Naples. Supplied by some food and books by his counselor Gonsalo, Prospero was preparing for revenge. When the ship with Antonio, his friend Alonso, and Alonso’s brother and son (Sebastian and Ferdinand, respectively) sails nearby, Prospero raises a tempest, which brings everybody ashore. Ferdinand gets separated from the rest of the men. He falls in love with Miranda, who hasn’t seen other men in her life. The spirit Ariel, who serves Prospero, messes with the stranded while they wander in the woods.

    

The comedic drunk duo, Stephano and Trinculo, and the monstrous Caliban aren’t in this shortened version of the play. The play features eight actresses, three dancers and two musicians. It was first produced last May in Central Park and had its second run in the beginning of September in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. The audience was seated inside the Music Pagoda with the action unfolding in the clearing beneath. Four massive tree trunks, growing in the corners like a symmetrical trapeze, were cleverly used as set design with spirits hiding behind them.

The vast park landscape behind the “stage” is utilized as well. A few minutes before the show starts, the audience can spot Miranda (Elisabeth Gilbert) collecting wood with Amazon-like strength. This graceful and unobtrusive introduction to the nude production of ‘The Tempest’, as well as the pastoral scene of three spirits running in the woods in the distance lit by the golden hour sun, sets the harmonious tone of the unity of person and nature. Establishing a non-sexualized and non-violent image of the naked body is the company’s goal. The directors, Pitr Strait and Alice Mottola, deserve praise for both concept and execution.

Soon enough, the nudity of Prospero (Gina Marie Russell) and Miranda starts to be perceived for their costumes. Small realistic details helped to create separation between nudity and sexuality: Miranda is covered in dust and mud, like a child who was playing outside all day, and Prospero has tattoos of occult symbols all over her body. The body paint from head to toe (by Ish Paralta) on the spirits makes them creatures from a different reality where any standards of human sexuality don’t apply. I whish the group choreography was thought through better because otherwise they are one step from a hippy musical festival crowd. That needs to be distinguished from the movement of Ariel (Reanna Roane), who practically danced the Shakespearian lines, enriching the words with inhumanly beautiful body language. 

The costumes by Enee Olsen were eye catching, stylish and ridiculous. Layered skirts and multiple accessories on the aristocrats, paired with high tight buns and strong make up, make fun of the very idea of clothing. This mad interpretation of Renaissance costumes comments on how foolish clothing etiquette is, and how the standards of beauty and fashion strangle the body and the mind. 

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Review: myth and realism in the ‘Crackskull Row’

Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina: “All happy families look alike, every unhappy family is miserable in it’s own way”. So every time I come to the theater and see a couch in the middle of a living room on stage, I expect to see yet another way of how this particular family is unhappy. ‘Crackskull Row’ indeed tells a story of one Dublin family, which used to live on the street that gave the paly its name. But as the tale progresses, we become increasingly unsure of what is real, what is not, who is alive and who is dead. The dark and disturbing play by Honor Molloy walks in circles through the swamped woods of one’s mind, leaving us without the firm ground of reality until the end.

photo by Michael Bonasio

The matriarch of the family, Masher Moorigan (Terry Donnelly), has no energy or desire to leave her shabby couch; it looks like she has spent days on it. Everything she needs to be at hand she hides between the cushions: sweets, a candle and bandage. Everything she doesn’t need she hides there as well, like utility bills, which she clearly is not paying. The house is falling apart – the inner structures of the walls are peaking through.

The scenic designer, Daniel Geggatt, did a great job creating an atmosphere of decay. The costumes by Siena Zoe Allen took it even further by layering women’s garments in the manner of homeless people, combining the 60’s and 90’s in the eclectic outfits. Little details, like vines in Masher’s hair and vines swallowing the fence outside the house, turn the stage into a family crypt where the living, ghosts, memories and hallucinations are in agony and unable to find their rest.     

When Masher’s daughter, Dolly (Gina Costigan), appears from the fireplace, she has to use the rainwater from the bowl outside to wash her mother’s feet because there is no running water in the house. After performing this “biblical” ritual, the women discover that the water turned to blood. They seem to get over this phenomenon quickly and continue teasing each other and reminiscing about the past.

Terry Donnelly, portraying Masher Moorigan, seems to wear this part like a second skin. The actress switches gears smoothly, puling out both comedic and tragic parts of her character. Gina Costigan doubles as the young Masher, a woman trying to escape her unbearable life conditions but only pushing her family towards the catastrophe. Colin Lane plays both grown up Rasher, Masher’s son, and Basher, her husband, with scary intensity. The cast is complete with John Charles McLaughlin, playing young Rash and an ESB utilities boy.           

‘Crackskull Row’ intertwines realism and myth, giving a homicide in Dublin the taste of a Greek tragedy. It’s a very heavy and painful story brilliantly worded by Honor Molloy and directed by Kira Simring. Expect to hear heavy Irish accents that create another layer of unique atmosphere in this show, supported by the dim lighting design by Gertland Houben and haunting sound track by M. Florian Staab.           

 ‘Crackskull Row’ runs through September 25th, Thursday & Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 3pm & 7pm, and Sunday at 3pm with additional performances Sept. 14^th & 21^st at 7pm. The Main Stage of the Workshop Theater at 312 West 36^th Street – West of 8^th Avenue – in NYC.  Tickets are $25. For more information about the show and tickets go to www.thecelltheatre.org