The Counter
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Cititour.com Review
Like me, many of us probably make up the conversations we see between two strangers – on the subway, in a hotel lobby, or in a restaurant. But one has to have the imagination and compassion of Meghan Kennedy to articulate the words of desperation, loneliness, and, yes, ultimately hope that are spoken out loud in her compact yet extraordinarily fulfilling 75-minute drama, “The Counter,” now debuting at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Laura Pels Theatre.
Beyond these words, which pierce the heart and alternately chill and warm the soul, “The Counter” succeeds brilliantly here because of the always-thoughtful direction of the great David Cromer and the superb acting of its two leads, the utterly natural Susannah Flood as Katie, a diner waitress in a small, very cold New York town, and an almost unrecognizably grizzled Anthony Edwards as Paul, her regular early-morning customer who struggles with insomnia and despair in equal measure.
If one is expecting a May-October romance between Katie and Paul (the actors are 20 years apart in real life; their characters’ ages are never really specified), it’s made clear early on that is neither the characters’ nor the author’s intention. Moreover, we don’t feel that sort of heat between them, even in this frigid New York town; what exists is, at best, a congenial warmth between two people who we realize might never even interact in other circumstances.
As we learn, Paul is a retired firefighter and a longtime resident of this almost barren place, while Katie is a recent transplant -- a refugee of sorts from New York City who longs to fully escape a failed quasi-romance with a possibly troubled man (who we hear on voicemails recorded by 2024 Tony Award winner Will Brill) and seeking a simpler life experience.
Of course, there’s much more to both of their stories, which Kennedy unveils in slow but steady fashion; above all, there’s a request made early on by Paul to Katie (no spoiler to what’s being asked here) -- at first unbelievable but then completely understandable -- upon which the show’s slender plot essentially turns.
Edwards, heavily bearded and obviously worse for wear (is this really the guy from “E.R.”?) superbly imbues Paul with a well-worn weariness that makes us sympathize with a man who is unwilling to grab his possibly last chance at happiness (even if it’s staring him in the face), having come to believe that happiness is not on his proverbial BINGO card. Still, even with Kennedy’s compassionate writing, Paul could be a completely maddening, thoroughly unsympathetic character in hands far less skillful than Edwards.
Flood, who has worked frequently on the New York stage without ever achieving stardom, is more than a match from Edwards; her Katie is at times challenging (in all senses of the word) but comforting; seemingly self-sufficient but willing to ask for help when she needs it; a slightly guarded person who, nonetheless, is unable stop the walls from coming down. Even without being Paul’s love interest -- or even the kind of “friend” he supposedly requires – she ends up being the person Paul needs to reevaluate his life.
Kudos belong as well to the excellent Amy Warren, who shows up briefly but movingly as a local doctor, and the wonderful set designer Walt Spangler, who cleverly designed the titular counter (where Flood and Edwards essentially face off) and its surroundings, although the set only takes up a portion of the Pels’ stage.
While we never see a slice of pie, we do witness a slice of life that may long haunt us in this riveting play. So make sure to get a seat at “The Counter,” because it’s likely to be one of the best pieces of theater we see all season.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/9/2024
Closing 11/17/2024
Theatre Info
Laura Pels Theatre
111 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036
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