Tag Archives: Christopher Darbassie

The Counter

Off-Broadway, Play October 13, 2024 Leave a comment

Your ability to feel liberated by the story that unfolds in The Counter will depend greatly and how well the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the current political climate have treated you.  The Playbill makes clear that the actions take place a few years ago, seemingly before we were all cut off from one another while living under extreme conditions.  If you have maintained or regained the muscle memory of a singular connection with someone in your life, Meghan Kennedy’s newest work will leave you with an increased sense of appreciation.  If, however, you remain in the grip of isolation and anxiety, the honesty with which the playwright confronts those feelings may overwhelm the more pleasant sensations of watching skillful actors drawing generously from sincere emotional wells.

Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards in
Roundabout Theatre Company’s The Counter; Photo by Joan Marcus

In an economic 75 minutes, Kennedy explores universal themes of grief and opportunities lost and found in a much more successful way than most of the COVID-panic-inspired plays I’ve reviewed this year (see Three Houses, Staff Meal and Six Characters).  Paul (a wholehearted Anthony Edwards nearly unrecognizable under a bushy beard) is a retired firefighter in small town New York close to the Canadian border.  He has an endearing ability to perceive, remember, and value the tiny gestures that make those around him special.  For reasons that come increasingly into focus, his life never fully launched.  Katie (Susannah Flood spreading her gloriously skittish wings) owns the cafe where Paul eats breakfast six mornings a week.  Unlike Paul, she has chosen this quiet and contained life.  With his frank urging, the two begin to form a friendship.   Amy Warren portrays third character, Peg, in a scene made pivotal by all we hear about her character before her entrance. 

Kennedy takes many shortcuts that some may find manipulative in order to move her story along to the key moments that propel each of them down their destined paths.  But in playing out their stories at 1 ½ speed, she accelerates our emotional investment in them both.  With increasing trust, they share “tough talk” with each other and us.  The balance of power shifts frequently, offering us fresh perspective with each twirl.

The scene is laid out in realistic detail by designer Walt Spangler, whose museum-worthy sets always provide an evocative sense of place.  The cafe is set on a angle, coming to a point audience center so everyone gets a pure view of every exchange.  Award-winning director David Cromer gives the central couple just enough business to heighten the small yet critical variation in the day-to-day.  Stacey Derosier’s lightening and Christopher Darbassie’s sound move the emphasis from exterior to interior dialogue and practically allow the windy world outside to swirl around our knees.  

We often hear about the importance of meeting people where they are.  The Counter illustrates exactly how powerful this connection point can be.  The underlying notes around self-care could also not come at a more appropriate time.  This limited engagement — part of Roundabout’s 2024-25 season — runs through November 17 at the Laura Pels Theatre (111 W 46th St).  Full priced tickets start at $58 and are available by calling 212.719.1300, or online at roundabouttheatre.org.

Six Characters

Off-Broadway, Theater Event August 4, 2024 Leave a comment

When theater-goers hear “Six Characters,” they expect them to be in search of an author.  But the half dozen who populate Six Characters, a new theatrical by Phillip Howze currently running at Lincoln Center, are in search of deserved attention, Italian tailoring, an equitable theater community, additional paid vacation, a through-line between scenes, a tolerant audience and, in the case of “the slave,” a really good book.  Howze concepts are ambitious, but the experience is less like attending a fully formed play and more like a 2AM doom scroll through Instagram.

While sitting in the Claire Tow bar area enjoying a theme drink — a mood-setter that might make you more receptive to the edgy content ahead — you will be offered a yellow bracelet if you’re open to being a participant.  You’ll be confronted no matter your answer since the Lincoln Center audience is repeatedly called out for supporting the white dominance of performing arts with houselights ablaze.  This piece kicks, scratches, punches, and admonishes, but without a cohesive narrative or genuine depth, little of it lands.  The overarching aim appears to be making everyone in the room uncomfortable with the messages and the messengers.  This would be more effective if we weren’t already feeling rubbed raw by current events and Howze had a clearer target.

No one can fault the commitment of the cast who must ride the bumpy waves of the script.  Julian Robertson is The Director, who starts off on an unfamiliar stage trying to corral an unruly troop of strangers.  They are led by the blustery Sassafras, played with boundless energy by Claudia Logan.  She is joined by her former boyfriend (Will Cobbs), a baby-faced younger man named Newman (CG), a runaway Slave who calls herself Road (Seven F.B. Duncombe) and the theater’s janitor (Seret Scott).  Scott is given the most to work with in her embodiment of all those who hold three jobs and yet remain invisible.  And Robertson has a sense of majesty that surfaces even when he is physically tied down.

Seret Scott and Julian Robertson in Six Characters at LCT.
Photo by Marc J. Franklin

Six Characters may be short on story, but it is long on atmosphere.  Starting off on a bare stage, the piece becomes increasingly visually interesting.  Director Dustin Wills — who has collaborated with Howze before —keeps finding ways to constrain his people even in this wide open space.  Regulars of LCT in particular will appreciate the wit infused in Wills’ set design, most notably at the top of Act II.  Each of the characters is given layers of fakery and playfulness to literally try on by costumer Montana Levi Blanco.  And the sound by Christopher Darbassie is relentless even during intermission.

Steps are being taken in boardrooms and on leadership teams throughout the American theater world to make space for a variety of voices and viewpoints.  And just as there is no such thing as a “Black job” (a line that was likely added in the last few days) no play should be labeled a color.  But Howze does a disservice to Six Characters and to a willing audience by leaving us feeling exhausted, peering out a tiny window with no sense of a healthy way forward.  

Six Characters run through August 25th at the Claire Tow Theater in Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street.  All tickets are $33 including fees, though the Telecharge interface is poorly designed and frustrating to use.  Runtime is 2 hours and 10 minutes including intermission.  The lobby and roof top deck open one hour before curtain.