Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Selina Fillinger’s confident new play SOMETHING CLEAN marks the arrival of an important new voice

• By drediman
• June 4, 2019
• No Comments

Kathryn Erbe and Christopher Livingston in Roundabout Underground’s production of “Something Clean” by Selina Fillinger. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Also last week, Selina Fillinger’s new play Something Clean opened Off-Broadway at the Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, courtesy of Roundabout Underground. Roundabout Underground – Roundabout Theatre Company’s developmental arm for new plays – has, over the years, introduced New York theatergoers to many a “next big thing” in American playwriting (e.g., playwrights such as Stephen Karam and Joshua Harmon are alums). I’m excited to report that in Ms. Fillinger, Roundabout Underground may have just discovered another important voice.

Something Clean is an astonishingly confident play, especially from a playwright as young as Ms. Fillinger. Her efficiently-plotted play tells the story of Charlotte, a mother of a teenage sex-offender who must grapple with the effects of her son’s actions. Watching the play gave me the disorienting sensation of constantly being on shifting ground. It’s a feeling that’s not dissimilar to real life, which gives the play an ambiguous, contemporary authenticity that many similar new plays don’t quite fully achieve. That Ms. Fillinger achieves this with grace and considerable emotional potency is a testament to her talent. I eagerly look forward to her next work.

The Roundabout Underground production has been cleanly directed by Margot Bordelon, who pays careful attention to the delicate momentum of Ms. Fillinger’s beautifully-observed play. The production also features the exemplary work of a trio of excellent actors.  As Charlotte, Kathryn Erbe is just magnificent, capturing the character’s complexity, vulnerability, and ultimate strength with compassion and quiet dignity. As her frustrated husband, Broadway veteran Daniel Jenkins gives a carefully-wrought performance that registers as neither protagonist nor antagonist; just real. And as the jovial young social worker who befriends Charlotte, Christopher Livingston skillfully reveals layers upon layers of his character that slowly breaks the heart.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

SOMETHING CLEAN
Off-Broadway, Play
Roundabout Underground / Roundabout Theatre Company at the Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 30