|
Vineyard Theatre
Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director
Jennifer Garvey-Blackwell, Exec. Director
Presents:
The Lyons
At the
Vineyard Theatre
(Vineyard Theatre Website)
Gertrude and Irving Dimson Theatre
108 East 15th Street
NY, NY 10003
212.353.0303
By Nicky Silver
Directed by Mark Brokaw
With:
Michael Esper, Kate Jennings Grant,
Dick Latessa, Linda Lavin,
Brenda Pressley, Gregory Wooddell
Set Design: Allen Moyer
Costume Design: Michael Krass
Lighting Design: David Lander
Original Music & Sound Design: David Van Tieghem
Fight Director: Thomas Schall
Production Stage Manager: Roy Harris
Production Managers: Ben Morris, David Nelson
Casting: Henry Russell Bergstein, CSA
Press: Sam Rudy Media Relations
Co-Artistic Director: Sarah Stern
Managing Director: Rebecca Habel
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
November 4, 2011
There is no actor today who can extrapolate the gestures and vocal tones of the quintessential Jewish mother better than Linda Lavin. In Other Desert Cities, Off-Broadway last season, Ms. Lavin was an alcoholic aunt, who could raise an arm and twirl it to catapult the audience into laughter. In Nicky Silver’s The Lyons, a play on words, as the family name is actually Lyons, and they behave in zoo-like, primal attack mode. The city hospital room, in presumably some kind of hospice ward, has some flowers here, some morphine there, and a dying husband, Dick Latessa as Ben Lyons, hurling swear words at his long-suffering, acerbic wife, Ms. Lavin as Rita Lyons. At first the language is riotous, but it wears on the viewer, with relentless monosyllabic anger. Rita focuses on an architectural magazine, so she can redecorate, when Ben dies. Ben focuses on begging Rita to remember the good old days, but Rita is already post-mourning, even sitting next to her very alive husband. Ben can’t get a break, even from their daughter, Lisa Lyons (Kate Jennings Grant), who’s a divorced, recovering alcoholic, trying to find love in this steel-cold space. Rita hadn’t even told her two children about Ben’s terminal illness, probably to avoid the need for togetherness that seems to paralyze this family’s emotions.
Rita and Ben’s son, the second child, is Curtis Lyons (Michael Esper), whose gay lifestyle is practically blamed for precipitating his father’s demise. Dark humor runs rampant, but everyone in the room is reeking of pain. Curtis seems friendless and loveless, and in Act II he makes a mistaken stab at a relationship. The scene is a faux real estate meeting, to buy a small condo, but, in fact, it’s the realtor, Gregory Wooddell, as the tall, handsome Brian, who’s the object of Curtis’ desire. Through a series of questions and accusations, the tension builds to a fight. Subsequent twists and turns in Mr. Silver’s play enlighten, embolden, and enhance the future of both Lisa and Curtis. As for Ben, one can surmise his fate, and, as for Rita, she pulls a devilish prank in her own quest for self-preservation. Rounding out the cast is Brenda Pressley as the Nurse, who excellently portrays a health care worker for whom death is a constant chore. She’s tough as nails, but eventually finds her own source of companionship.
Ms. Lavin was essential to the success of this ensemble play, with subtle shrugs and smirks, a crossing of legs, a turn of the wrist. This actor rivets the eye with extraordinary skill. Mr. Latessa never missed a beat, with tight timing of each one-liner. But, when Ms. Grant, as Lisa, tried to tell him of a special memory of their love, then couldn’t think of one, the pauses and pain were palpable. One other scene in Act II involves Lisa at an alcoholics anonymous meeting, and Ms. Grant evokes a level of poignancy that’s intrinsic to her persona. Mr. Esper portrayed Curtis as the most needy and isolated of the Lyons, exuding a level of obsessive desperation that became shocking in the Act II real estate scene. Mr. Wooddell, although briefly onstage, showed a significant ability to morph his personality with acute naturalness. And, Ms. Pressley is an actor I’d like to see again in a meatier role. Mark Brokaw directed for nuanced attitudinal cues and biting wit, amidst the angst of a family in distress. Allen Moyer’s shifting set, that turned a busy hospital room into a bare studio apartment, was extremely well conceived. Kudos to all.
Linda Lavin, Dick Latessa,
Kate Jennings Grant in
Nicky Silver's "The Lyons"
Courtesy of Carol Rosegg
Kate Jennings Grant
and Michael Esper in
Nicky Silver's "The Lyons"
Courtesy of Carol Rosegg
Brenda Pressley in
Nicky Silver's "The Lyons"
Courtesy of Carol Rosegg
Linda Lavin in
Nicky Silver's "The Lyons"
Courtesy of Carol Rosegg
|
