Curse of the Starving Class

Curse of the Starving Class

Signature Theatre

The Pershing Square Signature Center

April 26, 2019

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

The Signature Theatre production of Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class packs a powerful punch.  Terry Kinney directs a stark and brutal rendition of this 1976 play that is highly relevant today.  Scenic design by Julian Crouch is creative and unique.  It is highly reflective of the inner turmoil of the characters.  The atmosphere is enhanced through lighting by Natasha Katz and sound design and original music by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. 

Emma (played by Lizzy Declement) figured a way to sell her house and property without the signature of her husband, Weston (played by David Warshofsky).  Her son Wesley (played by Gilles Geary) and daughter Ella (played by Maggie Siff) are very upset about this decision, but they are desperate and starving.  There is no food in the refrigerator.  Neither of them trusts Taylor (played by Andrew Rothenberg), the lawyer that has hooked up with Emma.  When they find out their father has already sold the property to Ellis (played by Esau Pritchett) for an extremely low amount of money to pay off his debts, Ella goes on a violent rampage and Wesley fights to get it back.  There is nothing this family can do to escape the curse that has been handed down to them for generations.

The cast of Curse of the Starving Class
Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

The actions of the play are viciously over the top, and this cast convincingly plays them as realistically as possible.  The second act has a few turns that build to a visceral explosion of events and emotions.  These characters are trapped, and Mr. Shepard’s message forcefully hits home.

Curse of the Starving Class has been extended at the Pershing Square Signature Center through June 2.

Domenick Danza

The Babylon Line

The Babylon Line

Lincoln Center Theatre

At the Mitzi E. Newhouse

December 31, 2016

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre

Lincoln Center Theatre’s production of The Babylon Line is astounding.  Richard Greenberg’s script is prolific.  His characters are bold, honest, peculiar, and real. Director Terry Kinney finds just the right rhythm and flow for the play in order to keep the audience focused on the characters, their challenges, and their connections.

It is 1967 and Aaron Port (played by Josh Radnor) commutes on the Babylon Line to teach a creative writing adult education class in Levittown, Long Island.  His class is an eclectic mix of six students.  He is drawn to one student in particular, Joan Dellamond (played by Elizabeth Reaser).  She is a bit of an outcast, yet has a promising writing style with a unique voice.  The students in the class gradually open up in their writing, while the instructor remains separate and aloof.  The class comes to an end, yet their stories do not.

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre

There are strong performances by the entire cast.  Josh Radnor is charming and allusive as Aaron Port.  Elizabeth Reaser has a quirkiness that is disturbing and off beat.  As the details of her character are revealed, the depth of these qualities hold true.  She grows and changes due to the connection to Josh Radnor’s’character.  Their honesty and relationship is riveting.  Randy Graff is commanding as Frieda Cohen.  Maddie Corman and Julie Halston join with her in creating a trio of Long Island housewives that are both funny and sad.  Perhaps the most amusing touch by Mr. Greenberg is when he builds Maddie Corman's character into the main character in his play Our Mother's Brief Affair.  Frank Wood and Michael Overholtzer are brilliantly underplayed and ever present.  These actors all create rich, realistic characters with the specific backstories in Mr. Greenberg’s script.  Their relationships keep the energy flowing throughout the play.

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre

The set by Richard Hoover and costumes by Sarah J. Holden strongly establish the time period and location of the play.  Lighting by David Weiner and sound by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen allow for a consistent tone and smooth transitions.  All of this supports Mr. Greenberg’s theme that the ending of a story is really the beginning.

The Babylon Line is playing at Lincoln Center Theatre at the Mitzi E. Newhouse through January 22.  Time is running out.  Get there before it closes.

Domenick Danza