THE HANGOVER REPORT – Adrienne Kennedy’s HE BROUGHT HER HEART BACK IN A BLACK BOX at TFANA is slight, stylized, and expansive

Juliana Canfield and Tom Pecinka in Adrienne Kennedy's "He Brought Her Heart Back in a Black Box" at Theatre for a New Audience.

Juliana Canfield and Tom Pecinka in Adrienne Kennedy’s “He Brought Her Heart Back in a Black Box” at Theatre for a New Audience.

Before its limited run ends this weekend, I got a chance to catch the world premiere of Adrienne Kennedy’s He Brought Her Heart Back in a Black Box at Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn. This short (the play only runs about 45 minutes!), dreamlike piece marks Ms. Kennedy’s first play in about a decade, which is a cause for celebration among knowledgeable New York theatergoers.

Black Box tells the story of an interracial couple, Kay and Chris, on the eve of World War II. The play commences in Georgia, where we first encounter the star-crossed lovebirds, deliriously very much into each other. When Chris leaves for New York to embark on a prospective acting career, they try their best to keep in touch. Ultimately, however, their relationship, no matter how hard they try, becomes increasingly fractured with the passage of time and ends tragically. Ms. Kennedy’s play reflects this growing rift with subtlety, economy, and poetry.

The production is directed by Evan Yionoulis, who does a vivid job of theatricalizing the story. Like the play itself, her staging is stylized and expansive, giving us a sense that Kay and Chris are forever trapped in the nightmare of their own story. This approach is also reflected in the vertical set design – dominated by a dramatic, seemingly endless staircase – by Christopher Barreca, who effectively uses the impressive height of TFANA’s auditorium but keeps the playing area limited. As Kay and Chris, Juliana Canfield and Tom Pecinka are wonderful, attractive young actors, although a bit more abandon would have been welcome.

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HE BROUGHT HER HEART BACK IN A BLACK BOX
Off-Broadway, Play
Theatre for a New Audience
45 minutes (without an intermission)
Through February 11

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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