Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – This summer, two very fine Off-Broadway plays depict men in crises

• By drediman
• June 29, 2016
• No Comments

On Broadway, the great – and recently Tony-winning – Reed Birney is currently giving audiences a bleak peak at male anxiety in Stephen Karam’s extraordinary play The Humans. But he’s not the only actor on the boards of New York’s theaters depicting an existential crisis. This summer, to very fine Off-Broadway productions – one a revival, the other a new play – are also socking audiences with their clear-eyed, harrowing portrayals of men in crises.

Conor McPherson has long been one of my very favorite playwrights for his atmospheric, slow-burning storytelling. This summer, the newly renovated Irish Rep is hosting a superb revival of his aching play Shining City (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), which has been beautifully directed by Ciaran O’Reilly with quiet confidence. Mr. O’Reilly’s production features sensational turns by Matthew Broderick and Billy Carter that astutely delve into the male psyche in crisis. Mr. Broderick – whose performances in the past have been hit-or-miss for me – plays a completely mediocre, recently-widowed everyman who, as a result of the guilt and shame he feels for how he’s treated his wife, believes he is being haunted by her ghost. The way Mr. Broderick, who here is giving the best performance I’ve seen him give, verbosely navigates his character’s freefall into despair is both endearing and quietly anguished. It’s a distinguished piece of acting that’s a high point in his career. Mr. Carter, who plays Mr. Broderick’s therapist in the play, gives an equally powerful performance. While Broderick has the showier role, Mr. Carter’s character experiences a more profound, albeit inexplicable, kind of despair (part of it connected with his closeted homosexuality). Mr. Carter’s internal performance is simply heartbreaking and is a satisfying counterpoint to Mr. Broderick’s relatively lighthearted travails.

A few blocks away, the prolific Adam Rapp unveiled his new play The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois (RECOMMENDED), in my book his strongest play since his stunning Pulitzer Prize finalist Red Light Winter, courtesy of the Atlantic Theater Company. The play, which unfortunately just recently closed, tells the affecting story of a man – compellingly played here by William Apps – who suffers from bipolar affective disorder. On top of this, he’s been diagnosed with psychosis, as well, making his behavior unpredictable and potentially dangerous. In the play, he secretly reunites with his daughter (Katherine Reis, in a bruising performance), whom he hasn’t seen since she was a baby. Here, Mr. Rapp, mostly known for his extreme, in-your-face sensationalism, refreshingly opts for straightforward, emotionally naked storytelling that’s disarming (Mr. Rapp also directed the piece). Even if the slight play ultimately fails to fully satisfy, it’s to Mr. Rapp’s great credit that he’s able to portray mental illness, particularly from a virile man’s perspective, so sensitively. With Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois, Mr. Rapp has proven that he’s back in top form.

SHINING CITY
Off-Broadway, Play
Irish Repertory Theatre
1 hour, 40 minutes (no intermission)
Through July 3

THE PURPLE LIGHTS OF JOPPA ILLINOIS
Off-Broadway, Play
Atlantic Theater Company
1 hour, 30 minutes (no intermission)
Closed