All the Fine Boys
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Cititour.com Review
A first-rate quartet of actors, led by Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin, lend gravity and depth to “All the Fine Boys,” a slightly odd and decidedly disturbing drama written and directed by Erica Schmidt, now being presented by the New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Center.
The oddness comes, in part, from asking sophisticated New York audiences to relate to Jenny (Breslin) and best friend Emily (an excellent Isabelle Furhman), a pair of decidedly naive 14-year-old girls in 1980s South Carolina with a fondness for horror movies and Skittles. However, what ultimately may let all of us relate to these two is the girls’ overwhelming desire to experience love for the first time. (Male or female, if you can’t remember your first kiss, never mind your first “time,” just stay home.)
Emily, wiser in some ways than her 14 years, thinks she’s found it with high school heartthrob Adam (a perfectly cast Alex Wolff), who plays guitar, spouts smart-sounding (if decidedly meaningless) aphorisms, and brags about his college-aged girlfriend. It gives little away to say that by the play’s end (which spans a bit more than a year) Adam has proven not to be who he initially seems, and Emily ends up being the one who teaches Adam a thing or two about life.
The play’s main focus, though, is on Jenny, who both eats and talks too much, yet attracts the attention of the model-handsome Joseph (Joe Tippett), an older man (he is 28) from her family church who takes Jenny home one day. It’s also no spoiler that, despite keeping a Bible in his drawer and occasionally lecturing Jenny on manners, Joe’s intentions towards Jenny are less-than-holy.
Still, the most accomplished part of the play is the ways Schmidt reveals just how conflicted Joseph truly is about his actions. Moreover, Tippett – who has previously impressed on stage in such works as “Airline Highway” and “Familiar” – is quite remarkable in letting us see Joseph in all his pain, tragedy, and perversity. (He also bares a little bit of butt as well!) Meanwhile, Breslin, who has grown quite a lot from her “Little Miss Sunshine” days (neither she nor Fuhrman are particularly believable as 14-year-olds), proves to be a brilliant acting partner as she unleashes rage, desperation and adoration upon Joseph, sometimes switching emotions in the blink of an eye.
I have to admit I was periodically preoccupied with the 1980s setting, wondering why Schmidt chose it. Let’s just say that, like in many of the horror films of the era that are mentioned in the opening scene, if cell phones had been invented then, there would likely be no plot.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.thenewgroup.org/all-the-fine-boys.html
Cast
Abigail Breslin, Isabelle Fuhrman, Joe Tippett, Alex Wolff
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/14/2017
Closing 3/26/2017
Box Office
212-279-4200
Theatre Info
Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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