THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Rabe’s disappointing GOOD FOR OTTO gets sentimental, after-school-special style

Ed Harris and Rileigh McDonald in The New Group's production of "Good for Otto" by David Rabe at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Ed Harris and Rileigh McDonald in The New Group’s production of “Good for Otto” by David Rabe at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Last week, I caught the Off-Broadway production David Rabe’s Good for Otto at The Pershing Square Signature Center. The staging is courtesy of The New Group, which currently has a big hit on its hands with the sensational New York premiere production of Jerry Springer: The Opera. Mostly set in a mental health facility in rural Connecticut, Mr. Rabe’s earnest play depicts a collection of patients – and their therapists – as they struggle to navigate the fragile landscapes of their respective lives. Think One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next meets Our Town, and you’ve got the picture.  The trouble is that the play overstays its welcome (the show runs nearly three hours), unfortunately veering towards tiresome, “surface-y” sentimentality, much like one of those after-school-specials. I guess this is fine, but theater in my mind isn’t the place for such middlebrow, manipulative material. Suffice to say, I was disappointed by this latest effort from Mr. Rabe (Hurlyburly, Sticks and Bones), one of our most influential living playwrights.

Luckily, The New Group production is expertly directed, as usual, by Scott Elliott. It helps that his ensemble cast, one of the starriest to be found Off-Broadway this season, is well-credentialed. Led by Ed Harris (Apollo 13, The Truman Show) and featuring the likes of F. Murray Abraham (Oscar-winner for Amadeus), Rhea Perlman (Cheers), and Mark Linn-Baker (Perfect Strangers), the recognizable cast mostly delivered solid performances across the board. Even if they aren’t able to ultimately transcend Mr. Rabe’s blunt, full-throttle sentimentality, it was a treat to see these luminaries gathered on one stage.

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GOOD FOR OTTO
Off-Broadway, Play
The New Group at The Pershing Square Signature Center
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through April 8

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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