Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Bess Wohl’s tentative CONTINUITY asks big questions in a pedestrian setting

• By drediman
• May 22, 2019
• No Comments

Rosol Colón, Megan Ketch, Jasmine Batchelor, Alex Hurt, and Garcia in Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of “Continuity” by Bess Wohl at New York City Center. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

This week at New York City Center, Bess Wohl’s new play Continuity opened Off-Broadway via Manhattan Theatre Club. Ms. Wohl put herself confidently on the coveted list of playwrights to look out for a few years ago when she penned the observant play Small Mouth Sounds, which was first staged by Ars Nova and then subsequently remounted for a well-received commercial Off-Broadway run at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Like that earlier success, Continuity – which depicts a seemingly regular day on the site of the filming of an environmentally-minded Hollywood action flick – has more on its mind than immediately meets the eye.

Ms. Wohl has a gift for wickedly weaving in big themes and ideas into seemingly pedestrian premises. In Continuity, she skillfully accomplishes this in several subtle but unexpected revelations that change how the audience observes the proceedings, and by extension, their own lives. Unfortunately, the playwright is less successful at creating fully believable characters. In the earlier Small Mouth Sounds, which takes place at a silent retreat, the characters were luckily primarily silent. However, in the necessarily talky Continuity, Ms. Wohl tentatively resorts to strained and clichéd characterizations that border on caricatures. The result is a tonally unsteady play that fights against its larger goals. Nevertheless, when the play sneakily opens up to the cosmos, I nearly forgave the play its various shortcomings.

For Continuity, Ms. Wohl has once again teamed up with director Rachel Chavkin, who worked wonders with Small Mouth Sounds. As you may know, Ms. Chavkin is one of the hottest, most inventive directors working today, having staged two of my favorite Broadway musicals in recent seasons (those would be the blazing The Great Comet and the current red hot hit Hadestown). Although Ms. Chavkin here has understandably reined in her wildly creative tendencies, she still has a hard time with the play’s aspiring naturalism. As for the cast, it’s clearly comprised of capable performers who have yet to unlock the characters they play, as does the playwright.

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CONTINUITY
Off-Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center Stage 2
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 9