Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Samuel D. Hunter’s masterpiece LEWISTON/CLARKSTON is intimate theater on epic themes

• By drediman
• November 20, 2018
• No Comments

Leah Karpel and Kristin Griffith in Samuel D. Hunter’s “Lewiston/Clarkston” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

Last night at Off-Broadway’s Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, I caught what may well be the best new American play of the year, Samuel D. Hunter’s Lewiston/Clarkston. The piece is actually comprised of two 90-minute plays – separated by a communal dinner break – that explore, on desperately personal terms, the limitations and shaky foundation of the American experiment (a sentiment also recently excavated by the searing, radical revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at St. Ann’s Warehouse). “Lewiston” tells the story of a jaded young woman’s return to her mother’s hometown. “Clarkston”, on the other hand, portrays two young gay men from vastly different backgrounds, who encounter each other at dire points in their respective lives. Both plays have loose familial ties to those famous, if misrepresented, explorers, Lewis and Clark.

In the past, I’ve been a lukewarm fan of Mr. Hunter’s. But with this synergistic double-bill (each play really can’t be experienced without the other), he’s completely won me over. In my opinion, Lewiston/Clarkston is the clear masterpiece of his career, so far. Both plays are, in equal measure, emotionally- and thematically-wrought, a balance that Mr. Hunter has struggled with in the past. Here, he’s gotten that balance just right. Although both plays share the same themes – namely, the painful process of moving forward and breaking through in a system that’s broken and a society on the decline, as well as the paramount importance of real human connection – each play is markedly (and thankfully) different in tone.

For the production, the Rattlestick has been gutted to create an up-close-and-personal, immersive environment. I really like this drastic reconfiguration to a more flexible black box-type space and hope that the Rattlestick takes advantage of the freedom allows for their future offerings. Director Davis McCallum has done an exquisite job of creating and sustaining an unsettling, intensely intimate mood throughout the lengthy piece. Even the dinner break serves the intended tone of the evening. His sextet of performers cannot be bettered; I can’t imagine the piece performed more passionately and honestly than in this incarnation. They’re my early vote for ensemble of the season. In my book, with Lewiston/Clarkston, Mr. Hunter has catapulted himself as a front-runner for this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Along with Jez Butterworth’s equally durational The Ferryman currently packing them in on Broadway, the play is among the very best of the year.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

LEWISTON/CLARKSTON
Off-Broadway, Play
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
3 hours, 45 minutes (with one dinner break)
Through December 16