Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lillian Hellman’s flawed, early-career DAYS TO COME is unsurprisingly given a thoughtful revival by the folks at the Mint

• By drediman
• August 29, 2018
• No Comments

Larry Bull and Chris Henry Coffey in the Mint Theater Company’s production of “Days to Come” by Lillian Hellman.

As those of you well-versed in New York’s Off-Broadway theater scene know, the Mint Theater Company fulfills an invaluable mandate. For more than two decades, the institution has been reviving plays that have been, for one reason or another, lost in the deck of history. Last night at Theatre Row, I caught their latest production, a rare revival of Lillian Hellman’s Days to Come.  Even if the revival isn’t quite as satisfying as the company’s last offering, an exquisite and powerfully-acted production of Miles Malleson’s Conflict, it was still a thoughtful staging of Ms. Hellman’s flawed, early-career play (her second, in fact).

Set in the mid-1930s, Days to Come tells the story of a town in Ohio on the verge of a seismic socio-economic change. One of its main factories is showing signs of stalling, but the union and its workers just won’t have the cutbacks that have started to occur. In the meantime, the civil unrest exposes the corruption among the town’s other constituents; nothing seems to be working as it should nor progressing towards some sort of resolution (sound familiar?). Intrigue also plagues the upper class family that owns the mentioned factory – its executive officer lacks the leadership it takes to navigate his company through rough times, and his sister, wife, and best friend (who is also his general counsel) are all up to no good.

Despite the juicy premise and Ms. Hellman’s own left-leaning political inclination, the text itself doesn’t quite have the dramatic fireworks and sound structure of some of her later better-known works (e.g., The Little Foxes, The Children’s Hour). The issue lies in that none of the characters nor the arguments presented are quite fully drawn enough to be truly compelling. Nevertheless, the play, directed by J.R. Sullivan, is given the typical Mint treatment – truthfully acted (the revival features some familiar faces from previous Mint mountings), handsomely designed, and quietly confident. That the whole package is beautifully put together is no surprise whatsoever.

RECOMMENDED

DAYS TO COME
Off-Broadway, Play
Mint Theater Company at Theatre Row
2 hours (with one intermission)
Through October 6