Appropriate
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Cititour.com Review
Is it Appropriate (as in socially acceptable) or Appropriate (as in to take something)? What’s the right pronunciation for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ new play at the Pershing Square Signature Center? My guess is that either one works, given the play’s provocative nature. Then again, the right pronunciation, not to mention the meaning of the title, is just as puzzling as the intent of this strangely unsatisfying work, which combines elements of everything from “August; Osage County” to “The Shining.”
After a rather extended opening blackout (one of the many misguided choices made by director Liesl Tommy), we find River (Sonya Harum), a new-agey-type young woman and her somewhat older, slightly disheveled boyfriend Franz (Patch Darragh) climbing into what appears to be an abandoned, extremely cluttered Arkansas plantation (brilliantly designed by Clint Ramos). But, as we will discover over and over again throughout the following two hours, little is what it initially seems here
Franz – real name Frank – is no intruder, but the youngest son of the plantation’s now-deceased owner, and hasn’t been back to his childhood home since fleeing a decade ago after raping a 13-year-old girl. And by morning, the house will be anything but empty, as his bossy oldest sister Toni (Johanna Day) and her seemingly sweet but decidedly rebellious teenaged son Rhys (Mike Faist) have been on hand all week cleaning the place out before it goes to auction. Then enter, angry middle brother Bo (Michael Laurence), his brittle, Jewish wife Rachael (Maddie Corman), and their kids Ainsley (Alex Dreier) and Cassidy (Izzy Hanson-Johnston), who have driven from New York to oversee the house’s sale
Soon, the knives are drawn among this highly dysfunctional clan, as their long-held resentments come to the forefront – exacerbated by the discovery of a photo album of former Black slaves being lynched that probably belonged to the house’s patriarch. Oddly, this plot point should be the meat-and-potatoes of Jacobs-Jenkins’ play, but it ends up seeming more like just one more reason for these incredibly unpleasant and unhappy people to fight among themselves.
For the most part, the cast does what it can do keep us involved. Day is excellent as the hard-bitten Toni, although she’s done this kind of role many times before; Corman is quite effective as Rachael, who sees herself as the victim of familial prejudice but causes many of her own problems; and Harum expertly captures River’s mix of sophistication and naivete. On the other hand, Darragh, an actor I’ve admired elsewhere, frankly seems a bit too effete to be fully believable. Further, his characterization also makes his one-on-one scene with the game Faist -- who bares it all in one scene and simulates masturbation in another -- even creepier than it should be.
I imagine “Appropriate” will generate a lot of discussion among audiences, but perhaps not the type the playwright was hoping for.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.signaturetheatre.org/tickets/production.aspx?pid=3107
Cast
Maddie Corman, Patch Darragh, Johanna Day, Alex Dreier, Mike Faist, Izzy Hanson-Johnston, Sonya Harum, Michael Laurence
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/25/2014
Closing 4/13/2014
Box Office
212-244-7529
Theatre Info
Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
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