CurtainUp
The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings
| |
CurtainUp The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings |
|
A CurtainUp NJ Review
Simpatico
Fans of the more lauded Shepard plays such as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Buried Child True West and Fool for Love may not get the same bracing lift from the more problematic and enigmatic Simpatico. They nevertheless won't drift into disinterest during the two and one half hours it takes to course through the blackmail, revenge, strained loyalties and the back-stabbing world of thoroughbred horse-racing. The play maintains a vivid and haunting vision of reality in the hands of director Dado. The single named director Dado, who is also a Red Orchid Theatre ensemble member, keeps a firm control on the play's calculated buildup of suspense. The staging is, however, over-choreographed with props consigned to fall from the rafters. Also the scene changes are distractingly busy. The plot revolves around a successful, if shady, wheeler-dealer attempt to put a final fix on a contemptible incident in his past. This includes making a big cash payoff to his now neurotic, down-and-out ex-partner in crime. Most of the pleasure is derived from performances that make the most of Shepard's spiky snappy dialogue and subtle shifts in each character's personality. This is the meat in a play that comes close to being a good example of the traditional potboiler. Vinnie, the unpredictable cohort who has never been able to come to terms with that particular scam, is terrifically portrayed by Guy Van Swearingen. Despite choosing to live in squalor and squandering the hush money and gifts he receives from his former friend Carter (Michael Shannon), he also fancies himself a private detective and a ladies' man. To this end, Vinnie has asked Carter to pay a visit to his new love interest Cecilia (Mierka Girten) and help fix a complicated relationship that has gone sour. Carter agrees although he is more interested in ending his relationship with Vinnie. Cecilia's hippie hair-do and garb don't detract from Girten's amusing performance or her own very different version of her relationship with Vinnie. Rosie(a wonderfully sluttish Jennifer Engstrom), Vinnie's ex girl friend and now Carter's drug-besotted wife and a party in the original scam is thrown into the mix; so is Simms (and excellent John Judd), the now incognito corrupt ex racing commissioner whose life they once ruined. Judd is unfortunately consigned to a silly bit of shtick atop an elevated walkway as prologue to the play. Despite being weird and convoluted, simpatico is a perfect showcase for Shannon (TV's Man of Steel and Boardwalk Empire). His expertly manic and menacing performance is characterized by an always impending unpredictability. The scenes move smoothly between Cucamonga and San Dimas, California, Midway and Lexington Kentucky— the latter where Carter lives in upper middle-class suburban comfort. Although the impressive set designed by Grant Sabin is calculated to reveal each location under the effective lighting designed by Mike Durst; it is, however, overbearing. Most importantly Simpatico is an opportunity to see a lesser but still eminently worthy work from one of our best American playwrights. It resonates with a recurring Shepard-ian theme: the power-shifting in family and friends and the unexpected salvation and unpredictable freedom that comes with it. |
Search CurtainUp in the box below PRODUCTION NOTES Simpatico by Sam Shepard Directed by Dado Cast: Michael Shannon (Carter), Guy Van Swearingen (Vinnie), Mierka Girten (Cecelia), John Judd (Simms), Kristin E. Ellis (Kelly), Jennifer Engstrom (Rosie) Set Design: Grant Sabin Costume Design: Christine Pascual Lighting Design: Mike Durst Sound Design: Joe Court Production Stage Manager: Christa van Baale Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes including intermission Berlind Theatre at the McCarter Theatre Center 91 University Place, Princeton, N.J. (609) 258 - 2787 Tickets: $25.00 - $96.50 From 09/08/17 Opened 09/15/17 Ends 10/15/17 Review by Simon Saltzman based on Sat. matinee performance 09/16/17 NJ CONNECTIONS NJ Theaters NJ Theatre Alliance Discount Tix Information REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted at http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter |
