Evening at the Talk House

Evening at the Talk House

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

February 4, 2017

Photo courtesy of The New Group

Evening at the Talk House, by Wallace Shawn, is a haunting and disturbing theatrical encounter.  The New Group production, under the direction of Scott Elliott, engages the audience with a visceral and thought provoking experience.  The play starts off as an easy going reunion of old theatre buddies and gradually turns into a truthful revelation of the darker side of human survival.  What at first seems like a funny retelling of events quickly becomes honest confessions of the reality of these characters’ existence.

The play opens with an extended monologue by Robert (played by Matthew Broderick).  He tells of how he was recently contacted by Ted (played by John Epperson), who wrote the music for his play Midnight in a Clearing with Moon and Starts ten years earlier.  Ted and Robert plan a reunion of those involved in the original production at their old hang out, The Talk House.  While reminiscing, they welcome on uninvited guest, Dick (played by the playwright Wallace Shawn).  He is an old acquaintance of all involved, and an occasional boarder at The Talk House.  Dick was recently brutally beaten by a group of strangers.  Disturbing connections are uncovered as two guests confess they have been earning extra money “targeting,” which is when they quietly plan the murders of people who are out to “cause harm.”

The cast of The Talk House
photo courtesy of The New Group

The stellar cast is an amazingly strong ensemble.  Matthew Broderick, Jill Eikenberry, John Epperson, Larry Pine, Wallace Shawn, Claudia Shear, Annapurna Sriram, and Michael Tucker work tightly to create an open and welcoming environment with deep, hidden truths.  They mingle with the audience before the show begins, setting them up for a relaxing, nonchalant experience that abruptly transforms.  One of the most subtle and powerful effects is that the actors do not seem to be wearing microphones.  The air has a quiet calm that proficiently shifts from placid to eerie as the play evolves.

Playwright Wallace Shawn

Scott Elliot has directed this production with gradual shifts in mood and tone that, when juxtaposed against the jarring revelations in Mr. Shawn’s script, create effective discomfort and an element of disbelief.  As the story progresses and additional facts are revealed about mysterious and sudden deaths of people the characters know, you question how such realities can be occurring in this comfortable and warm environment.  You become more disturbed as you realize these are the truths of the world of the play, and you have been an intimate part of it.

Evening at the Talk House is playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center through March 12.

Domenick Danza