Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ike Holter’s EXIT STRATEGY at Primary Stages succeeds through its winning characters

• By drediman
• April 21, 2016
• No Comments

I recently had a chance to catch Ike Holter’s Exit Strategy at the Cherry Lane Theatre, courtesy of Primary Stages. The play, which chronicles the final days of a Chicago (I suspect South Side) public high school from the teachers’ and an administrator’s perspective, was a critics darling two years ago in its world premiere staging in Chicago. Mr. Holter is best known to New York audiences for his Stonewall riots play Hit the Wall, which fittingly ran at the Barrow Street Theatre a couple of years ago. Exit Strategy shares the same strengths and weaknesses as that earlier play. Both plays feature accessibly human characters you can cheer for, despite their kinks (or maybe because of them). Mr. Holter exhibits a scintillating sense of forward momentum through sharply-crafted dialogue. This is especially true of his ensemble scenes, which crackle with infectious energy as the characters navigate each other’s differences and celebrate common points of view. However, this focus on the characters at times results in awkward moments in the storytelling, getting in the way of creating a truly compelling overarching narrative arc.

The Primary Stages mounting is staged by Kip Fagan with a strong sense of the play’s strong points. The performances by the seven-strong company (featuring Michael Cullen, Aimé Donna Kelly, Rey Lucas, Deirdre Madigan, Christina Nieves, Brandon J. Pierce, and Ryan Spahn) are winning all-around. This is a true ensemble effort, and each actor creates a compelling, clearly-delineated portrayal. The production is also expertly designed – Andrew Boyce’s detailed teachers’ lounge set looks convincingly underfunded (naturalistically lit by Thom Weaver) and Jessica Pabst’s casual costuming is spot-on.

RECOMMENDED

EXIT STRATEGY
Off-Broadway, Play
Primary Stages at Cherry Lane Theatre
1 hour, 35 minutes (without an intermission)
Through May 6