Days of Wine & Roses

 Days of Wine & Roses
The Musical
Studio 54
January 25, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Days of Wine & Roses

Days of Wine & Roses tells the tragic story of a married couple fighting alcoholism.  The book by Craig Lucas is compact and effective.  The music and lyrics by Adam Guettel are captivating.  The score pulls you into the downward spiral of the characters.  It offers moments for both characters to discover and reveal the cause of their pain, as well as revel in moments of clarity and hope.  Under the direction of Michael Greif, Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James deliver breathtaking performances.

Kristen Arnesen (played by Kelli O’Hara) meets Joe Clay (played by Brian d’Arcy James) at a work function.  He is in public relations, and she is his boss’s secretary.  His is drinking heavily, and she is reading.  She tells him that she does not like the taste of alcohol and that her weakness is chocolate.  He orders her a Brandy Alexander, which she drinks quickly as they open up about their childhoods.  A few weeks later, they are celebrating Joe’s promotion with champagne, Johnny Walker, and margaritas.  After they elope, Kristen takes Joe to meet her father (played by Byron Jennings).  He immediately dislikes Joe.  Kristen stops drinking when she has a baby, but is lured back by Joe’s desperation.  Their emotional need is only fulfilled when they are both drinking.  It is their magic place.  Their life begins to crumble.  Kristen abandons Joe and their daughter to stay with her father.  Their time apart is focused on healing and forgiving.  They long to be together as a family, yet the road to recovery is rough. 

Brian d'Arcy James & Kelli O'Hara
Photo courtesy of Days of Wine & Roses

The story is dark and heavy.  The highs of the drunken scenes feel risky and dangerous.  Each character has the ability to manipulate the other and pull them down just as they are getting themselves together.  That is the tragedy of the piece, and Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James are so viscerally connected that these moments are real and tangible.  You feel for both of them throughout the story.  You hope they will not succumb to the temptation, yet you gain a true understanding of the depth and severity of their disease.

The skillfully crafted book, lyrics, and score is matched by the masterful performances, yet this is not an easy subject matter to sit through.  It is a beautiful production of a heartbreaking story.  Days of Wine & Roses is playing at Studio 54. 

Domenick Danza

Make Believe

Make Believe

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

July 30, 2019

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Bess Wohl’s Make Believe is a gem of brilliance.  She masterfully crafts damaged characters struggling to release the ghosts of their past.  Her writing is truthful and risky.  Each risk she takes is emotionally engaging and delivers a powerful impact.  The Second Stage Theater production is directed by Michael Greif.  His work is both bold and tender as he allows a phenomenal cast of actors to deliver deep and exposed performances.

Young Addie (played by Casey Hilton) is playing with her Cabbage Patch Doll in her attic playroom.  It is the 1980s.  She is joined by her big sister, Kate (played by Maren Heary).  The trouble starts when their older brother, Chris (played by Ryan Foust) returns from soccer practice.  He is irate because his snack is not waiting for him as expected.  Their mother is nowhere to be found.  As the evening progresses, their mother still not present, they play at having dinner as a family.  Young Kate is the stressed-out mother, Young Chris is the condescending father, Young Addie is the needy baby, and their youngest brother, Carl (played by Harrison Fox), is the pet dog.  Days go by in the attic playroom and the children remain unattended.  Their make believe “play” reveals the brutal truths of their family dynamic.

Fast forward about twenty-five years.  The children, now adults, return to the family home for a funeral.  They seek refuge in the attic playroom.  The pain they carried their whole lives is evident in their personalities.  Their strong bond is illustrated in their acceptance of one another.  That’s why it hits them hard when an unexpected and long buried secret is unearthed.

The Cast of Make Believe
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

The actors playing the young characters are truly remarkable.  They create relationships that are realistic, communicating honest and rich levels of subtext.  The actors playing their adult counterparts beautifully embody the physical and emotional traits set up by the young actors in the early scenes.  Samantha Mathis portrays an apathetic and inflexible Kate.  Susannah Flood plays Addie as insecure and neurotic as expected from her earlier treatment by her older brother and sister.  Brad Heberlee’s portrayal of Carl is moving and heartwarming.  This cast delivers the unexpected in such a natural and comfortable manner that you can’t help being enveloped in the action. 

Director Michael Greif & Playwright Bess Wohl
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Make Believe is playing at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater through September 15.  Playwright Bess Wohl delivers numerous thematic tidbits in a play built on a strong and effective armature.  It is a touching, honest, and brutal journey, masterfully written, directed, and performed.  Be sure to see it! 

Domenick Danza

A Parallelogram

A Parallelogram

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

August 18, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

In his play A Parallelogram, Bruce Norris asks the questions: If you are able to go back and live your life over again, knowing how it will turn out, would you do it?  There are a lot of complex issues to contemplate in a decision like this.  His play, while delivering a lot of laughs, considers them all, and also looks at the probability of affecting a different outcome if you have the courage to change your actions.

Bee (played by Celia Keenan-Bolger) is in the middle of a heated discussion with her boyfriend Jay (played by Stephen Kunken), when the woman she met at the grocery store earlier that day (played by Anita Gillette) pushes a button on her remote and rewinds the scene so Bee can relive it.  She does this a few times until Bee is satisfied with her participation in the discussion.  The woman explains to Bee the science behind the phenomenon.  She then reveals to the audience that she is from the future, when most of the population of the world dies off from a mysterious illness.  She does not.  She is Bee in the future.  She is able to tell Bee the outcome of her experiences.  The remote (a parallelogram) offers Bee the opportunity to move backwards and forwards in time to assess her choices and possible change her behavior.  Will any of this effect the final outcome?

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Celia Keenan-Bolger portrays Bee rationally and logically, allowing for the transitions in time to be realistic and believable.  Her character is driven by and inquisitive desire to understand how her actions can improve the future.  She challenges the rules of the parallelogram as set up by her older self, and keeps the action flowing forward with her determination.  Anita Gillette is beguiling, direct, and funny as Bee's older self.  Her monologues are full of information needed to understand the context of the story.  She delivers them with charm, energy and delight, keeping the audience engaged as the complex layers of the story unfold.  Since Bee’s boyfriend is not in the know of the phenomenon, Stephen Kunken plays Jay as the straight man for most of the jokes, setting up and following through with the situational humor keenly established by Ms. Bolger and Ms. Gillette.  He does not miss a beat.  His comic timing and physicality is spot on.

Celia Keenan-Bolger & Anita Gillette
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

The set, designed by Rachel Hauck, is a realistic rendition of two interior locations.  What makes it spectacular is the way they move into place.  At the push of a button, the stage right and left walls smoothly spin and the upstage wall moves forward, then back again.  This, along with lighting design by Kenneth Posner and sound design by Matt Tierney, creates the swift flow the story line requires in order to be credible and engaging. 

Mr. Norris’ play is very well constructed and keeps you thinking throughout.  The direction by Michael Greif keeps the action tightly focused on the details that make the show work.  The Second Stage Theater production of A Parallelogram is closing on August 20.  Their upcoming season looks great.  Check out their website for details. 

Domenick Danza