(L-R) Ismenia Mendes and Quincy Tyler Bernstine in Grand Concourse (Photo: Joan Marcus)
How nice it is to be personally moved and stimulated by a
new play as happened with "Grand Concourse" by Heidi Schreck. First
introduced to the playwright when her play "There Are No More
Big Secrets" was
produced at the Rattlestick Theater in 2010, I am not familiar with her writing
for the TV series "Nurse Jackie." That she is also a fine actor
with numerous New York and regional credits only confirms her as multi-disciplined
and talented. I am pleased to bring to your attention her latest and another excellent play
that again relies on as well as benefits from her "...Big Secrets" director Kip Fagan.
Set in a soup kitchen in the Bronx, it involves the
spiritual and secular conflict in which a Catholic sister Shelley (Quincy Tyler
Bernstine) finds herself. This dilemma applies to the act of forgiving, a very
basic and fundamental core of her Christian belief. At the start, Shelley is in
prayer in front of a microwave for an amusing reason. In her late thirties, she
is far from humorless but is, however, very serious about her commitment to the
daily routine that includes chopping up
vegetables for the hearty soups for the homeless, as well as seeing to the care
and maintenance of the facility of which she is co-manager.
Along with her dedication to this daily routine, Shelley depends a lot on late-twenty-something Oscar
(Bobby Moreno), an easy-going Dominican, employed as a security guard whose primary
job is to make sure that none of the homeless make trouble, or make their way from the dining room to the kitchen
- - - that is except for Frog (Lee Wilkov), an aging, somewhat scattered intellectual
whose frequent visits are tolerated despite ample evidence of his unstable but
not-dangerous mental state apparently held in check with medication.
For the element of danger and for the potential for the unexpected
which you can be sure is forthcoming, there is Emma (Ismenia Mendez), a disquieting
nineteen year-old college drop-out. Her
request to work as a kitchen helper is tentatively approved by Shelley,
especially when Emma tells Shelley she has cancer and just beginning chemo
therapy.
Despite the evidence that surfaces that Emma is more needy
and unstable than either Shelley or Oscar are initially aware, they are
unprepared for the havoc and mayhem ahead. On the surface, Shreck's play seems uncomplicated
as its four characters carve out an uneasy alliance. That it becomes a profound
study in compassion and tolerance amid crises makes it very special study in
human behavior.
Bernstine is heart-breaking as the Sister whose devotion to
her faith is taxed to the breaking point not only by Mendes but also by a
unresolved long-standing relationship with her own family. Mendes may be pretty,
but is nevertheless scary as the willfully deceptive Emma. Moreno gives the
play a welcomed buoyancy as the sweet-tempered guard who allows an unguarded
incident to come close to ruining his life. Frog is kind of a running joke through
the play, but Wilkof's terrific performance defines him also as a poignant and
pathetic soul whose deteriorating mind is slowly betraying him. The kitchen has
been effectively designed by Rachel Hauck to accommodate a play that will keep
on cooking in your mind long after you see it.
The performance
schedule for GRAND CONCOURSE is Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30
PM, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 PM
and Sundays at 2 & 7PM. There are special Monday evening performances at 7:30 PM on
both November 10 and November 24. Single tickets ($60-75) may be purchased
online via www.TicketCentral.com,
by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) and in person at the Ticket Central
Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).
No comments:
Post a Comment