Dan Cody's Yacht
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Cititour.com Review
What separates the “haves” from the “have nots”? It’s certainly one of the most pressing questions facing Trump-era America, and one that the playwright Anthony Giardini seems to have thought a lot about. But in attempting to answer this loaded question in “Dan Cody’s Yacht,” now premiering at Manhattan Theatre Club-Stage I, Giardini throws out a dizzying amount of options – ambition, greed, recklessness, acceptance of risk, family circumstance, fear, pride – without ever coming to anything resembling a remotely satisfying conclusion.
Sure, we can all agree that great plays hardly need to have a pat resolution (as this show’s excellent director, Doug Hughes, proved with his production of John Patrick Shanley’s “Doubt”). But it’s not just Giardini’s failure to provide an answer to his thesis tied up in a bow in a blue Tiffany box that makes the show so frustrating. It’s also that the enigmatic motivations and mercurial personality of its main character, private equity manager Kevin O’Neill (Rick Holmes), which undercuts the show’s effectiveness.
To Holmes’ credit, he gives a richly layered, completely committed performance as Kevin, a single gay (but formerly married) father to slacker son Conor (a fine John Kroft) living in a wealthy Boston suburb. He initially encounters Conor’s English teacher Cara (the superb Kristen Bush) at a parent-teacher conference to discuss his son’s failing grade on a paper about, all too predictably, “The Great Gatsby” (from which the play derives its unfortunate title).
However, the subject moves from literature to finance almost instantly. Within minutes, he cajoles her, insults her, bribes her (which she declines), and eventually invites her to join his private investment group. As Kevin repeatedly points out, if he wasn’t gay, this might seem mere seduction. So the 64-million-dollar question hovers for more than two hours: Why exactly is he trying to help her? Is it simply to gain her vote against a referendum that would join the school districts of his town, Stillwell, and her much poorer neighboring town, Patchett? Is it a ploy to help raise Conor’s less-than remarkable grades? Is it his own strange way of payback – since he ultimately admits that as a poor student he got ahead by accepting the “help” of a rich older man?
Two other large questions also surround the play. Given Kevin’s lack of any social skills – he practically redefines “obnoxious” –how has he become even remotely successful in a field that does include handling your clients? (Yes, money speaks louder than words, but still, aren’t there any other money managers in the area?) It even seems a little strange that the fellow members of his investment club (a trio of basically unnecessary characters played well enough by Jordan Lage, Meredith Forlenza and Laura Kai Chen) would hang out with him.
Much more importantly, Giardini sets Cara up as a beacon of moral strength within the show’s first five minutes, making it seem rather implausible that she would ultimately take Kevin up on his offer – even though she’s doing it in large part to allow her smart, feisty daughter Angela (the impressive Casey Wheyland) to try to attend Vassar – given the numerous and obvious conflicts of interest.
For all of its flaws, though, you will probably rarely be bored with “Dan Cody’s Yacht.” Giardini can write very convincing dialogue, which becomes especially apparent in some of the show’s strongest scenes between Cara and Angela, Angela and Conor, and especially a showdown between Cara and her best friend Cathy (a riveting Roxanna Hope Radja, sporting a slightly exaggerated Boston accent) in a snooty Stilwell eatery. In addition, Holmes and Bush play beautifully off each other (so much so that I kept expecting Kevin to finally announce he’s actually straight). And, if nothing else, John Lee Beatty’s peerless ability to reveal set after set after set on MTC’s rotating turntable is almost worth the ticket price.
And yes, you and your companion(s) may choose to spend some time afterwards discussing the play’s many implications and machinations, which isn’t a bad thing! Even better, you might even decide to start a book club and read (or re-read) “The Great Gatsby.” Or like Angela, you might just head to Starbucks, grab a Frappuccino, and move on with your life!
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://dancodysyacht.com
Cast
Kristen Bush, Meredith Forlenza, Laura Kai Chen, Rick Holmes, Roxanna Hope Radja, John Kroft, Jordan Lage, Casey Whyland
Open/Close Dates
Opening 5/15/2018
Closing 7/8/2018
Box Office
212-581-1212
Theatre Info
New York City Center
131 W. 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
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