Happy Talk

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HAPPY TALK

Photo: Monique Carboni

Cititour.com Review
Talk may be cheap, as the old adage goes, but its consequences can be very costly. Or so seems to be the moral of Jesse Eisenberg’s black comedy “Happy Talk,” now receiving its world premiere by the New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Center under the direction of Scott Elliott. Such a life lesson isn’t exactly front-page news, which ultimately makes this one-act play feel a bit unsubstantial, and a couple of its scenes truly stretch credibility. Still, audiences might not want to pass up the chance to see two great actresses, Susan Sarandon and Marin Ireland, in action.

Sarandon, looking fit and fabulous at age 72, stars as the chattering Lorraine, a New Jersey housewife who could be in the illustrated dictionary under “N” for narcissist. Not only is she completely caught up in her own so-called life as an actress – she’s the self-proclaimed leading lady of the local JCC where she’s currently playing Bloody Mary in “South Pacific” (hence the show’s title) -- Lorraine needs to be the constant center of attention. So much so, that she has next-to-no energy left for her physically and emotionally suffering husband Bill (a wondrous Daniel Oreskes, doing a lot with very little) or her dying mother, who lives in the same house but whom she never checks in on.

That job belongs to undocumented Serbian immigrant Ljuba, portrayed with a remarkable mixture of humor and vulnerability by the always magnificent Ireland. In a mere six months, Ljuba has become Lorraine’s one true confidante, but we’re always aware that Ljuba’s willingness to listen and agree with her employer (well, Bill pays the bills) is primarily a source of self-preservation. Not only does Ljuba want to stay in this country, but she wants to bring her daughter here. And as dizzy as Ljuba can seem, there’s little question that she’s smart enough to know Lorraine is the one person who can make that possible.

Her way of doing so is to marry Ljuba off to her gayer-than-gay castmate Ronny (an engaging Nico Santos), who lets Lorraine’s careless insults bounce off him like Teflon. Unfortunately, Lorraine’s scheme would also make a lot more sense if Ronny didn’t have a long-time partner or if Ljuba didn’t have a lawyer. (I don’t think Eisenberg has any real clue how the INS works, even if he does sprinkle in some realistic details about how to prepare for “green-card marriages.”)

Even more improbable is the middle-of-the-night arrival of Bill and Lorraine’s long-estranged, politically correct daughter Jenny (a persuasively abrasive Tedra Millan), who breaks into her childhood home to see her ailing grandmother while trying to avoid her mother. But as much as we’ve seen of Lorraine’s selfishness by this point – and we’ve seen a lot -- it doesn’t fully excuse the hatefulness that emerges from Jenny, and even less so how she turns on Ljuba, whom she has never met before. Then again, Eisenberg may be cleverly preying on us, attempting to get our sympathy to now belong to Lorraine before delivering his final sucker-punch.

And here we come to the play’s two biggest problems: Sarandon’s chirpy performance doesn’t really prepare us for her character’s transformation, and Eisenberg has dropped a hint or two so that most sharp-eyed or sharp-eared viewers will likely figure out the play’s denouement long before it arrives. So much for a happy ending.

By Brian Scott Lipton


Visit the Site
https://thenewgroup.org/production/happytalk/

Cast
Susan Sarandon, Marin Ireland, Tedra Millan, Daniel Oreskes, and Nico Santos.

Open/Close Dates
Opening 5/16/2019
Closing 6/16/2019


Theatre Info
Signature Theatre
480 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
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