THE HANGOVER REPORT – A.R. Gurney’s slight but deceptive LATER LIFE receives a sturdy 25th anniversary revival from Keen Company

Barbara Garrick and Laurence Lau in Keen Company's production of "Later Life" by A.R. Gurney at Theatre Row.

Barbara Garrick and Laurence Lau in Keen Company’s production of “Later Life” by A.R. Gurney at Theatre Row.

Tonight, Keen Company’s 25th anniversary revival of A.R. Gurney’s Later Life opened Off-Broadway at Theatre Row. Mr. Gurney is one of the most prolific playwrights we have, and of his oeuvre, this slight one act play – at least upon first impression – begs to be ranked among his lesser efforts. But look a little closer at this play about a second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) chance at love and romance during middle age, and you’ll find a stealthy and observant examination of how we make, healthy or not, important life choices. Much like his counterpart across the pond, Alan Ayckbourn, Mr. Gurney has a way of crystallizing human behavior in a way that’s unsettlingly clear-eyed, accessible, and very entertaining.

Directed by charismatic Keen Company artistic director Jonathan Silverstein in a sturdy, workmanlike manner, this production of Later Life makes sure – perhaps overly so – you get every nuance of Mr. Gurney’s deceptively straightforward script. His cast of four (comprised of Liam Craig, Barbara Garrick, Laurence Lau, and Jodie Markell) was certainly solid. I was particularly amused by Mr. Craig and Mrs. Markell, who played a diverse set of intentionally two-dimensional characters that could potentially be a grating bunch. In their hands, however, they were comic beacons in Mr. Gurney’s ultimately bleak landscape.

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LATER LIFE
Off-Broadway, Play
Keen Company at Theatre Row
1 hour, 25 minutes (without an intermission)
Through April 14

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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