"Dying City," "Prelude to a Kiss"

So, I've been quite busy lately, between midterms and an unusually busy week and finishing up the second of my short stories for my creative writing class.

Thursday was my busiest day in a while, and I managed to fit in a trip to Dying City at Lincoln Center Theatre. I had heard good things about the play, and the New York Times review was wonderful. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The play is by Christopher Shinn, 31, whose plays, have already received a good number of productions both in London and in New York (this play originated at the Royal Court in London). The play is about the widow of a soldier in Iraq, played by Rebecca Brooksher, who is visited, a year after her husband's death, by her husband's identical twin brother, played by Pablo Schreiber, who also plays her husband in flashback segments. The play utilizes time and space excellently within the confines of the set: a sparse apartment on a slowly revolving turntable.

Though the conceit may sound a bit heavy-handed or cliched, Shinn manages to sidestep the possible pitfalls with a particularly good sense for the spaces between people where things are left unsaid. The actors, as well, manage to imbue their characters with the necessary tautness of grieving people without bypassing an occasional lapse into wistfulness and remembrance.

All in all, it's a play I recommend highly by a playwright I'll be keeping an eye on.

Last Thursday, I went to see Prelude to a Kiss by Craig Lucas, the latest show at Roundabout Theatre Company. It's a show that the company put into production at breakneck speed after their proposed production of Harold Pinter's Old Times starring Alan Rickman collapsed.

Anyway, I had no idea what the play was about, and the only cast member I really recognized was John Mahoney, so I went into the show with an unusually open mind.

All in all, I really enjoyed it! I knew it was a romantic comedy, and it was actually ultimately a lot funnier than I had expected based on the rather dour poster art. The play is about a young couple (played with excellent chemistry by Annie Parisse and Alan Tudyk), who, after a strange event at their wedding, experience an unusual supernatural occurrence that leads them on an unexpected emotional (and amusingly physical) journey.

John Mahoney as the Old Man (pictured at left), a mysterious character within the play, gives the most touching of the evening's performances and deserves particular recognition.

What I liked most about the play was that I didn't quite know what to expect and that it managed to include a hopeful ending, while remaining honest and avoiding saccharinity. It seemed like the perfect show to see on a date or if one's in the mood for something a little lighter.