TRIBES by Nina Raine, directed by David Cromeer, is an interesting exploration of deafness, its world, its nuances, in a disfunctional family.  Central is a deaf, lip-reading son (the excellent Russell Harvard) who never learned to sign, his parents (a blustering, overwrought, overbearing Jeff Perry and the sensitive Mare Winningham), his repressed sister who wants to be an opera singer (Gayle Rankin), and his (ultimately) border-line psychotic brother (Will Brill).  He meets a girl (the totally engaging Susan Pourfar) who is losing her hearing.  This is the most irritating family ever, with phony intellectualism pouring out of the father and the brother in a rapid naturalistic style that interferes with communication.  Brill’s mentally ill brother is the noisiest, most annoying character in town, and the sturm and drang from him and the father, is repellant.  These are not people I want to spend time with.  And I wonder why some contemporary writers feel that “fucking” should be their major adjective. But when Harvard and Pourfar are alone communicating, it’s a different, and quite engaging, play, and we learn a lot about the world of the non-hearing.  The play is beautifully produced, except for some poor lighting choices by designer Keith Parham, who a couple of times has the stage very dimly lit while Harvard is supposed to be reading lips.  The set by Scott Pask and projections by Jeff Sugg are fine enhancers of the action.  There are hints of some possibly criminal action by the lip-reader, but they are obscure, and I heard two groups of audience members trying to figure it out, and then agreeing he had lied in court about what he lip-read.  So it’s a flawed evening of Theatre, but there is enough meat on its bones, fascinating hand-signing, and a few solid performances, to make me glad I didn’t leave at intermission. 

Richmond Shepard—

Performing Arts INSIDER and lively-arts.com

I saw Carolann Valentino’s show BURNT AT THE STEAK, the heart of which is showing us the life of a restaurant manager and all the people in her life, including her Italian mother in Texas, the customers and the wait staff. She’s a very beautiful, remarkably energetic singer/dancer comedian with super jokes and amazing clear, clean characterizations. She’s a dancin’ twirlin’ fool with great personal charm whose delineation of recognizable distinct characters is hilarious, each notched up just a tad into very funny caricatures. The characters, each clearly defined with total conviction and split-second timing by her many voices, rubber face, and amazingly flexible body, include a Texas cowgirl, a crude Italian suitor, the epitome of a drunken woman, and the best gum-chewer I have ever seen. She flirts with audience members, dances “Big Fat Daddy” with one, becomes a boxing “Rocky.” She spins, she shimmies, she's charismatic, she’s amazing-- she’s a star!

Richmond Shepard—

Performing Arts INSIDER and lively-arts.com

Nicky Silver’s play THE LYONS is an exceptionally enjoyable evening of Theatre playing in New York at this time. The star, Linda Lavin, gives a stylized, very external, but comfortably comedic performance as a wife in lifelong battle with her now dying husband in a hospital room. She can really deliver a line, and there are plenty of zingers. She’s a comedic genius with impeccable timing. Hits every note, and takes it beyond the writing with her gesture, face, comic sense. She’s a superb mugger, with a sense of being absolutely real. Dick Latessa as her dying husband is a great foil, matching her in energy as they bat the insults back and forth. The director Mark Brokaw takes (or allows) very broad strokes of comic physical action, including moves by the daughter, vividly portrayed by Kate Jennings Grant, and the laughs bounce. In Act One. Act Two shifts to a dramatic encounter between their son, played by the excellent John Wernke the night I saw it, and a man (the muscular Gregory Wooddell) he is romantically interested in. Very dramatic. Scene Two of Act Two has a sprinkling of comedy in the basically dramatic, very satisfactory solution to the setup of the play. Scenic design by Allen Moyer is excellent, as is the subtle lighting by David Lander. THE LYONS is good, solid theatrical entertainment, with a great star, that leaves you smiling and contemplating the vagaries of life, and I'm glad it wasn't me. See it. If you don’t like it I’ll give you a dollar.

Richmond Shepard—

Performing Arts INSIDER and lively-arts.com