Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y.
Written by Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Margo Whitcomb
“I don’t know, dad. I’m fine, I think?”
Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y., normally puts on plays we have never heard of that deserve to be seen. In this case, however, while the actors are excellent, the play is one of the least interesting I have ever—and I do mean ever—been forced to sit through. A professional woman has prepared a lengthy account of her own life experiences that are reflected in an incident she is reporting on, and she has agreed to read it to an invited audience of mental professionals. She finds that she cannot read it aloud, so she asks a man who is on the stage with her to read it instead. She has written it in the third person, so the reading is a narrative account rather than a personal one. This remove makes the rendition more than a little boring; it is an edgy account of sexual misadventure and exploration, and its third-person rendition gives it every aspect of dull fiction. This play is by a Canadian playwright.
Elizabeth Narciso plays Lauren, and Johnny Travers plays Luke. We play the invited audience. We are attentive; Travers is fascinating; Narciso is belligerent and rather astounding as she listens to Lauren’s story unfurl. Travers has the hardest part to play as he finds himself uncomfortable with the words he is reading. Narciso has the difficult physical reactions to play against the story and the weird sound effects Carmen Borgia has created, including two men arguing off stage during the reading.
The production is also weird as undeterminable projections appear on the rear screen, otherwise black as night. Michelle Rogers simple costumes are suitable for the characters. Margo Whitcomb has given the two players as much interaction as the script allows, and that is fine; it is just that more than 90 percent of the play is narration and not reaction. Ten percent of the time on stage either Narciso is writhing or the two actors are sharing quiet moments that do not seem relevant to the story being told.
It is, for me, a disappointing season opener for this excellent company. I would rather have missed it than seen it, but I saw it.
“Red Like Fruit,” in its U.S. premiere, plays at Bridge Street Theatre, 44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY, through October 12. For information and tickets, visit the theater’s website or call (518) 943-3894.
