Babe

 Babe
The New Group
Pershing Square Signature Center
December 14, 2024 

Photo courtesy of The New Group

The New Group production of Jessica Goldberg’s Babe delivers a powerful punch.  Director Scott Elliot gets to the heart of Ms. Goldberg’s writing.  The pace is steady.  The relationships are strong.  Set in the music industry, the audience gets a glimpse of power structure and how decisions are made.  There is a clear view of how far we’ve evolved over the past forty years, due to sensitivity training and the effort to eliminate toxic work environments.  We also get a clear sense of who pays the price.

Gus (played by Arliss Howard) and Abigail (played by Marisa Tomei) are interviewing Katherine (played by Gracie McGraw) for a position in their management office.  The walls are covered with gold records of the recording artists they represented.  Katherine is young, glib, and assertive.  Gus tells her what he and Abigail had to do back in the day to discover and develop individual artists who made a lasting impact.  At Abigail’s insistence, Katherine is offered the job, but does not rise to the challenge as easily as she anticipated.  After Gus aggressively puts her in her place, Abigail reaches out to her.  They bond over stories of Kat Wonder, a solo artist discovered by Gus.  She was a true friend to Abigail, and Katherine idolizes her.  When Katerine accuses Gus of sexual harassment, the tables turn.  Abigail’s loyalty is put to the test.  She faces the truth of the role she played as Gus’ partner.  Unfortunately, part of that becomes a liability. 

Arliss Howard & Marisa Tomei
Photo courtesy of The New Group

Marisa Tomei delivers a strong performance, physically transforming into the character of Abigail.  She shifts in age as scenes take place in the present as well as decades earlier.  In addition, the character is undergoing cancer treatment.  Ms. Tomei genuinely portrays this wide range of experiences.  It is a visceral performance.  Arliss Howard holds nothing back as Gus.  He is bold and direct.  The character’s confidence is evident in his masculine demeanor.  Gracie McGraw plays both Katherine and Kat Wonder.  She and Ms. Tomei seamlessly transition through these scenes.  They cross timelines and smoothly shift emotion.  Their physicality tells the full story, magnetizing the audience’s interest and intrigue. 

At first, this story is about making it in the music industry.  As events unfold and the past is revealed, the play becomes about power, who has it and how they hold onto it.  When accountability lands, it’s not always fair. 

Babe is playing at Pershing Square Signature Center through December 22.  The performances of this cast are worth seeing.    

Domenick Danza

Des Moines

 Des Moines
Theatre for a New Audience
Polonsky Shakespeare Center
December 23, 2022 

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Denis Johnson crafted his play Des Moines with mesmerizing dialogue that captures interest and builds intrigue.  His characters are on the edge, dark, and simmering.  The Theatre for a New Audience production is riveting.  Director Arin Arbus uses Mr. Johnsons rhythms and silences to lure the audience and involve them in the action.  Once engaged, there is no release, just a plunging spiral, fueled by unwavering hope.

Michael Shannon, Johanna Day, & Arliss Howard
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Dan (played by Arliss Howard) is home from work at the Car Barn, where he drives a taxi.  He and his wife Marta (played by Johanna Day) share the news of their day.  A woman, Mrs. Drinkwater (played by Heather Alicia Simms) came by Dan’s work to inquire about a ride he gave her husband to the airport.  It was her husband’s final cab ride.  His plane crashed and he was killed.  Mrs. Drinkwater asks Dan about her husband’s last words, then shows him her husband’s wedding ring, which she accidentally leaves with Dan.  Marta tells Dan that Father Michael (played by Michael Shannon) will be stopping by, which reminds Dan that he saw Father Michael outside a gay bar at closing time, wearing woman’s make-up.  When Father Michael arrives, Marta breaks the news to Dan that the Doctor told her she has two to four months to live.  They decide to go out for a drink, leaving Father Michael with Jimmy (played by Hari Nef) who is in a wheelchair due to complications during sex change surgery.  When Mrs. Drinkwater arrives to pick up her husband’s wedding ring, the drinking begins.  When Dan and Marta return, the drinking accelerates.  They all sing Karaoke, baring their souls in a drunken frenzy.  Morning comes.  They all stand tall to face the day ahead.  

Arliss Howard & Hari Nef
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

This cast of actors each create truthful, multi-layered characters, who are all driven by deep need and propelled by boundless energy.  The action builds as these drives connect, uniting them on their journey of facing insurmountable personal challenges.  Each actor has a clear sense of what keeps their characters moving forward.  This is what sustains the audience’s investment in the heightened action.  There is sorrow, but no grieving  There is conflict, but no animosity.  They spiral into darkness, then slowly and steadily rise with hope.

The Theatre for a New Audience production of Des Moines is masterfully conceived and skillfully directed and performed.  Denis Johnson has written a truly unique piece of theatre.  You become one with these character in their bizarre mingling and faithful persistence.  The play is compelling and thought provoking.  This production has been extended through January 8 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in downtown Brooklyn.  

Domenick Danza