Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Payne’s CONSTELLATIONS unexpectedly rivets, courtesy of Washington, DC’s Studio Theatre

• By drediman
• February 29, 2016
• No Comments

Yesterday, I caught a matinee performance of Nick Payne’s Constellations at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC’s Logan Circle neighborhood. I had also seen the starry Broadway mounting of Constellations last season, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. That production was headlined by Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson and directed by Michael Longhurst (who also helmed the original production at the Royal Court in London). Although both Mr. Gyllenhaal and Ms. Wilson impressed me in their Broadway debuts, I was left cold by Mr. Payne’s prismatic two-hander. The play, which explores a romantic relationship through the lens of “multiverses”, struck me as more of an acting exercise with a few interesting ideas than a fully-formed drama.

Well, that was then – this is now. At Studio, I found myself riveted by the play. The elements of the play that I had previously dismissed as being gimmicky and lazy (brief, repeated scenes with only minor variations in dialogue; technical language explaining the rules of physics and the universe) I now found immensely poetic and expressive. Perhaps because of the intimacy of Studio’s flexible third floor black box space, Constellations strikes me now as a profound meditation on the sacredness and permanence of love once bestowed. Director David Muse (who is also Studio’s Artistic Director) has done a fantastic job of creating an immersive in-the-round experience that beautifully compliments the play and its subtle modulations. The success of the production is in large part due to his crack team of designers (sets by Debra Booth, lighting by Michael Lincoln, and sound by Ryan Rumery); their work is encapsulated by a striking hanging light sculpture that dominates the cozy playing space. As the two lovers, Lily Balatincz and Tom Patterson are just as good as their celebrity counterparts were on the Great White Way. They register younger than Mr. Gyllenhaal and Ms. Wilson, which makes their helplessness that much more intensely heartbreaking.  Their beautifully-calibrated, hypnotic, and at times gut-wrenching performances deeply moved me.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CONSTELLATIONS
Regional, Play
Studio Theatre (Washington, DC)
1 hour, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through March 6