VIEWPOINTS – The dysfunctional family is alive and well in the theater

The dysfunctional family has long been a reliable staple in the theater. Audiences have long flocked to see juicy familial dramas, particularly those featuring domineering matriarchal characters, in plays by the likes of Anton Chekhov (The Seagull), Eugene O’Neill (Long Days Journey into Night), Tennessee Williams (The Glass Menagerie), and more recently Tracy Letts (August: Osage County). My guess is that their enduring popularity is due to that fact that many of us find some sort of cathartic release while watching these explosive domestic family dramas, with all their secrets and and tense conflicts, play out. After all, most all of us can relate to the experience of being a part of a nuclear family – and what family doesn’t have its own sort of drama? This fall theater season in New York, two new worthwhile plays, each putting their own contemporary spin on the “dysfunctional family” scenario, can be added to this illustrious list.

IMG_5187John Pollono’s cleverly plotted Lost Girls (RECOMMENDED), an MCC production at the Lucille Lortel, takes place during a severe New England snowstorm and tells the story of a broken-up blue-collar family grappling with the reality of a runaway teenage daughter, as well as their turbulent past. If Mr. Pollono’s writing and characters come off as being a bit forced, at least initially (the same can be said of Jo Bonney’s no-nonsense direction), there is tremendous emotional payoff by the end of the play. Those who saw Mr. Pollono’s previous darkly aggressive play Small Engine Repair may be (pleasantly) surprised at how his latest plot ultimately unfolds. Once the actors get settled into their characters, they’re fantastic, particularly the women in the cast – Piper Perabo, Tasha Lawrence, and Lizzy DiClement are all sensational as they depict a number of generations of steely women.

IMG_5175The ambitious Hir (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) by Taylor Mac, currently running at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in a Playwrights Horizons production, depicts a family falling apart at the seams. Isaac has returned from the war to a family that has been co-opted by his mother, Paige, from her tyrannical husband. But Paige, in an unforgettable performance by Kristine Nielsen, doesn’t just put things back in order, she emasculates her husband and destroys every semblance of her former life to create an insular world that basks in anti-establishment. In the process, Paige, in her own way, becomes every bit the tyrant as her husband. Suffice to say, Isaac’s return instigates conflict and fireworks ensue. Mr. Mac’s untidy play overflows with energy and ideas that can be overwhelming (the same can be said of Mr. Mac’s own performances!). But that’s the beauty of it all, which director Niegel Smith, his crack design team (the spot-on scenic design is by David Zinn), and the thrillingly game cast fully embrace. Hir is an audacious, wild ride – that’s been expertly executed – and you don’t want to miss it.

 

LOST GIRLS
Off-Broadway, Play
MCC at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (with no intermission)
Through December 4

HIR
Off-Broadway, Play
Playwrights Horizons at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
1 hour, 50 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 20

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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