Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Slick staging and strong acting save THE PAIN OF MY BELLIGERENCE by Halley Feiffer

• By drediman
• April 26, 2019
• No Comments

Halley Feiffer and Hamish Linklater in “The Pain of My Belligerence” by Ms. Feiffer at Playwrights Horizons. Photo by Joan Marcus.

This week, Halley Feiffer’s new play The Pain of My Belligerence opened Off-Broadway in a production courtesy of Playwrights Horizons at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. The play is comprised of a trio of scenes – each inexplicably (at least to me) set on three successive election nights (2012, 2016, and 2020) – that chronicles the love affair between Guy and Cat, a successful restauranteur and an up-and-coming journalist, respectively. I was a moderate fan of the playwright’s previous two efforts, I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard via Atlantic Theater Company and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at (…) via MCC Theater. Although The Pain of My Belligerence doesn’t change my views on Ms. Feiffer as a playwright, it is certainly not without merit.

Individual scenes – complete with Ms. Feiffer’s biting and perceptive dialogue – are compelling, particularly the first two. She’s in her element when she’s developing Cat and Guy’s toxic relationship, which she does vividly. Maybe too vividly, as I was emotionally exhausted (a compliment) from watching the two characters throw logic out the door as they intimately and painfully navigate their fraught situation. However, as a whole, the play doesn’t quite hold together. In particular, the final scene, which functions as a sort of coda to the pyrotechnics that precedes it, is a bit problematic. Although it aims to close the play on a hopeful note, the scene simply comes off as awkward.

Luckily, a slick staging and some very strong acting save the day. The production has been directed by Ms. Feiffer’s frequent collaborator Trip Cullman (The Pain of My Belligerence is their sixth production together), who brings his typical stylish sensibility to the play. The frustrating and frustrated Cat is played by Ms. Feiffer herself, bringing an appealing girl-next-door charm to a character who has the potential to be quite ingratiating. The same sentiment applies to Hamish Linklater’s Guy, a character intended to occupy murky territory somewhere between monstrous and disarming. Luckily, Mr. Linklater brings considerable sex appeal and charisma to the role. The aforementioned final scene is graced by the presence of a few new characters – gracefully played by additional actors – but I don’t want to spoil the play for you by divulging any more information.

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THE PAIN OF MY BELLIGERENCE
Off-Broadway, Play
Playwrights Horizons / Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through May 12