The LaBute New Theater Festival

The LaBute New Theater Festival

St. Louis Actors’ Studio

Davenport Theater

January 20, 2019

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Actors' Studio

Three one-act plays by Neil LaBute are now running Off-Broadway at the Davenport Theater.  St. Louis Actors’ Studio is presenting The LaBute New Theater Festival through January 27.  In these three short pieces, the playwright explores controversial and topical themes in a very direct manner.  This gives the audience the opportunity to face their personal feelings and points of view on racism, sexism, Neo-Nazism, and gun violence.

Eric Dean White in The Fourth Reich
Photo courtesy of St. Louis Actors' Studio

The Fourth Reich is a one man show.  Karl (played by Eric Dean White) calmly shares his perspective on Adolph Hitler.  He does not abhor the man’s actions, nor does he boast of the man’s accomplishments.  He offers a different perspective on the actions France and Russia took during World War II and the events initiated by the United States during subsequent wars.  Mr. White portrays Karl with a commanding and grounded composure that is highly effective.  This elicits for a visceral response from the audience to Mr. LaBute’s message.

Brenda Meaney & KeiLyn Durrel Jones
Photo courtesy of St. Louis Actors' Studio

In Great Negro Works of Art, Jerri (played by Brenda Meaney) is waiting to meet Tom (played by KeiLyn Durrel Jones) for a first date at an art museum.  They immediately dive into an uncomfortable race discussion, which leads into another uncomfortable discussion based on their sexist points of view.  Ms. Meaney and Mr. Jones have a great chemistry and play the attraction between the two characters to the max.  This allows for a very entertaining and engaging cat and mouse game.

Gia Crovatin in Unlikely Japan
Photo courtesy of St. Louis Actors' Studio

The third piece on the program is Unlikely Japan.  When Katie (played by Gia Crovatin) sees a photo of her old high school boyfriend as one of the victims of the Las Vegas shooting, forgotten memories flood back to her.  She is overwhelmed with the guilt of how show broke it off with him when he planned a trip for both of them to Japan.  Would his tragic death have been avoided if she had handled it differently?  Ms. Crovatin delivers an empathetic and relatable portrayal of this character.  Mr. LaBute takes a close look at how personally Americans view tragic events, thus diminishing the push for social change.

These three short works are skillfully crafted by the playwright, superbly directed by John Pierson and Neil LaBute, and meticulously performed.  You only have until January 27 to see them, so get there right away!

Domenick Danza

All the Ways to Say I Love You

MCC Theater

Lucille Lortel Theatre

September 11, 2016

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

What is the weight of a lie?  That is the questions asked in Neil LaBute’s new play All the Ways to Say I Love You presently playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.  This sixty minute, one woman piece is produced by MCC Theater and directed by Leigh Silverman.  The play is mesmerizing, tender, and shocking.  Judith Light excels as a school teacher with a deep secret that she has kept hidden for sixteen years.

Ms. Johnson (played by Judith Light) has been teaching high school English and Drama for thirty or so years.  When a student asks on one of the first days of school, “What is the weight of a lie?” she has no answer.  This prods her to open up about an encounter that once took place between her and a male student.  She gradually peels back the layers of her passion, deceit, marriage, and underlying motivations until she is able to define the weight of her own lie.

Playwright Neil LaBute
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

Neil LaBute has magnificently woven a story where every word and phrase is valuable to understanding the main character.  As you intellectually piece the story together, you are viscerally drawn into the emotional complexity and depth of the action.  Ms. Light is brilliant in creating sincere moments that bond the audience to her.  Her character physically eases into a trusting relationship with each individual in front of her as she opens up with genuinely honest confessions.  As shocking as some of her revelations are, you understand and support her.  She confides in you as she would a trusted and intimate friend.  Director Leigh Silverman found the perfect perspective for this piece by having Ms. Light create this personal one-on-one relationship with the audience.  It is absorbing and moving. 

  

Photo courtesy of MCC Theaater

All the Ways to Say I Love You is a unique and remarkable piece of theatre.  Due to demand, MCC has already extended the run through October 16.  Go on line and get your ticket NOW!

Domenick Danza

The Way We Get By

The Way We Get By

Second Stage Theatre

Tony Kiser Theatre

June 13, 2015

Photo courtesy of Playbill &
Second Stage Theatre

I was very excited to be seated in the second row center to see Amanda Seyfried in The Way We Get By.  I opened my program and there it was.  The dreaded insert.  “At this performance the role of Beth will be played by Clea Alsip.”  The curse of the matinee performance.  I was disconcerted, hostile, furious.  Should I march to the box office and scream, “Refund!” and demand my TDF discount ticket price back?  “Wait,” I thought, “This is a NeilLaBute play at Second Stage Theatre.  I know it is going to be good.”  And it was!

The play was a roller coaster ride of emotion as Doug (Thomas Sadoski) wakes up in the middle of the night in the apartment of Beth, a girl he hooked up with (Clea Aslip… who delivered an excellent performance).  He is agitated and paces uncomfortably in his boxer shorts, and downs a bottle of smartwater.  The awkwardness accelerates when Beth enters from the bedroom wearing his vintage autographed Star Wars tee shirt, wondering why he left her alone in bed.  The one night stand banter plays back and forth until Doug hits an emotional wall.  Playwright Neil LaBute skillfully approaches and retreats from this wall throughout the play as Doug and Beth’s history is excruciatingly revealed.  Director Leigh Silverman intrigues the audience by building and releasing the tension between the two characters right up to the very end of the play.

Thomas Sadoski & Amanda Seyfried
in The Way We Get By
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theatre

Scenic designer, Neil Patel clearly shopped at IKEA for every piece of furniture and knick knack on the set.  This might sound like a critical put down, but it is not.  He created the “perfect” setting for Doug and Beth’s coming together and facing their deepest fear.  The neat and orderly Manhattan condo with everything geometrically matching and in its place is an ideal backdrop for a rebellion against the norm.

Toward the end of the play, Doug says that the way people get by is to run and hide from what they want when they fear they cannot have it.  Neil LaBute takes us on a journey into the freedom that comes when you make a decision that is right for you regardless of what people will say, tweet, or politicize.

Clea Alsip
Photo courtesy of broadwayworld.com

I am still disappointed that I did not see Amanda Seyfried, especially from the second row.  I did, however, leave the theatre feeling elated from the cathartic experience of an extremely well written, directed, and performed work of theatre.

Domenick Danza