Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens

Theatre for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

January 25, 2019

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The Theatre for a New Audience production of Timon of Athens leaves you with a lot to think about.  This lesser known William Shakespeare / Thomas Middleton play has been edited by Emily Burns and Simon Godwin.  It places a clear focus on the value of selflessness and generosity, and makes a strong statement about mankind’s inability to honor and respect it.  Simon Godwin originally directed this production for the Royal Shakespeare Company in December, 2018.  Kathryn Hunter is brilliantly cast as Timon.  A number of actors play numerous roles, creating distinctive characters and building a strong through line of action. 

It is “sometime in the future” in Athens.  Timon (played by Kathryn Hunter) is entertaining a group of friends in her sumptuous home.  She showers them with gifts.  They adore and praise her.  She supports anyone in need and offers opportunity when citizens are down on their luck.  Her generosity is limitless.  When her creditors come to her demanding their due, she finds herself unable to pay.  She turns to her closest friends, who she supported, for assistance.  They refuse her.  As she faces bankruptcy, she invites them to her home for one final banquet.  She serves her guests bowls of blood.  She then sets her home on fire and removes herself from society.  She lives as a hermit, forgotten, resentful, and self-sufficient.  While digging for food, she unearths a chest of gold.  As word spreads of her newfound fortune, her former followers seek her out to renew their companionship. 

Arnie Burton & Kathryn Hunter
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Kathryn Hunter fills the stage as Timon, mesmerizing the audience and taking them along on her transformative journey.  The opulence, bounty, and light-hearted humor in the beginning of the play crumbles as the truth of Timon’s finances is revealed.  The atmosphere turns threatening and camaraderie dissolves.  It is a stunning portrayal of the unraveling of a society that places its primary value on monetary gain.  The second half of the production shifts as Timon becomes filled with resentment.  Ms. Hunter gallantly portrays this transformation with dexterity.  The sacrifices she makes of her newfound fortune shows that her heart is still intact, even though she has lost her faith in her fellow man. 

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Praises to Theatre for a New Audience for mounting this production.  Simon Godwin has masterfully brought this Shakespeare/Middleton work to a new, relevant light.  The cast is magnificent.  Timon of Athens runs downtown Brooklyn at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center through February 9.

Domenick Danza

Medea

Medea

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Harvey Theater

January 18, 2019

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Acadmey of Music

Medea, written and directed by Simon Stone, is a chilling retelling of the Euripides tragedy.  It is produced by BAM, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, and David Lan, and playing at the Harvey Theater.  The cast, lead by Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, is brilliant.  The action is magnified by camera work and large projections.  Mr. Stone chooses to tell the most dramatic parts of the story through narrative.  The psychic distance in the narrative combined with the close-up camera work create stunning effects and intense emotional engagement.  

Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Simon Stone, & Dylan Baker
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Academy of Music

Anna (played by Rose Byrne) is released from a short stay at a mental facility.  Her husband, Lucas (played by Bobby Cannavale), is there to pick her up, along with their two sons (played by Gabriel Amoroso and Emeka Guindo).  The boys are happy to see their mother.  It is clear that Lucas and Anna are separated and that Lucas is seeing someone else, but the details are purposefully avoided.  Anna manipulates Lucas into spending the night with her and the boys.  She later reveals the reason for her hospital stay.  She started poisoning Lucas when she found out about his affair with Clara (played by Madeline Weinstein).  She acts as if his on-going relationship with Clara is not an issue, until Lucas tells her that Clara is pregnant.  When Lucas is relocated with his job and decides to take the boys with him, Anna crosses deeper into the darkness of her illness.

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale are powerful together.  They are strongly connected and enact a web of manipulation, guilt, compassion, and denial that push Anna to the point of no return.  Ms. Byrne calmly plays Anna as a woman on the edge.  She is in total control and  portrays Anna’s break from reality with complete conviction.  You feel for her, until her actions take an extreme turn.  Mr. Cannavale portrays levels of loyalty, devotion, and indecision in the character of Lucas.  His performance is truthful and genuine.  He character is unaware of how he enables Anna in her plan. 

Medea is playing downtown Brooklyn at BAM Harvey Theater through February 23.  It is a haunting and unique retelling of the Medea story.  Don’t miss it!

Domenick Danza

A Soldier’s Play

A Soldier’s Play

Roundabout Theatre Company

American Airlines Theatre

December 30, 2019

Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Charles Fuller’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize winning A Soldier’s Play is having a glorious and well-deserved revival by Roundabout Theatre Company.  Kenny Leon directs a stellar cast, creating a strong ensemble who keeps the action moving at a searing pace.  The production is exceptionally conceived.  Set design by Derek McLane establishes the tone and tension of the location and keeps the scenes flowing smoothly.

The year is 1944 in Fort Neal, Louisiana, a segregated U.S. army base.  When Sergeant Vernon C. Waters (played by David Alan Grier) is murdered, the men in his unit believe it was committed by the local KKK.  The army sends Captain Richard Davenport (played by Blair Underwood) to investigate, and assign it low priority.  Captain Charles Taylor (played by Jerry O’Connell) tries to tell Captain Davenport that the locals will not respect a black man questioning them, especially if he is an officer.  Both men want to uncover the truth, but they have different ways of going about it.  As the investigation uncovers facts about the expectations and pressure Sergeant Waters place on the men in his unit, Captain Davenport has to face a brutal and unexpected reality.

Blair Underwood & Kenny Leon in rehearsal
Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

David Alan Grier is strong and determined as Sergeant Waters.  The flaws in his character are magnified by Mr. Grier’s stunning portrayal, giving clear insight into the playwright’s powerful message.  Blair Underwood and Jerry O’Connell clash heads with force and conviction, fueling the action and driving the plot forward.  There are equally strong performances by McKinley Belcher III, Rob Demery, Jared Grimes, Billy Eugene Jones, Nate Mann, and J. Alphonse Nicholson. 

The Ful Cast of A Soldier's Play
Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Charles Fuller’s play is a brilliant telling of the search for truth no matter the outcome.  His characters are richly layered.  As they reveal their strengths and weaknesses, the plot builds to unexpected places.  His suspension of time keeps the action focused on the discovery of evidence and the piecing together of information.  It is an emotional journey driven by pride, honor, and injustice.

A Soldier’s Play is running at the American Airlines Theatre through March 1.  It is a riveting production.  You need to see it.  It will blow you away!

Domenick Danza