Conspiracy theorist and former soldier, Rock, has turned his home’s basement bedroom into a doomsday bunker in a well-intentioned effort to keep his family safe from the Civil War he’s sure will break out shortly after the upcoming election. A former construction contractor with the Department of Defense, Rock has thought through every detail, from the air and water filters to the battery packs and shotguns. Far more of a domineering drill sergeant than a loving husband and father, Rock’s short fuse is a more obvious danger to the women of his household than any Democratic Socialist of his fanciful nightmares. Nevertheless, his wife, Slipper, and eldest daughter, Ashley, are helping to complete the project to his specifications and practicing their drills with conjured enthusiasm: anything to keep the peace, especially since the sudden disappearance of younger sibling, Claire, a year ago.
While the intention of this World Premiere drama, Safe House, is to explore a deeply emotional component of our current political climate, as written by New York physician L.B. Browne, the script also has a medical secret hidden inside its walls. We see early signs in the twitching of Rock’s hand and his confusion between the two sisters. The nurse friend who accompanied me felt the stakes of Rock’s condition were realistically portrayed, though they may not make for a successful theatrical experience. Still this is a new work with a short initial run and the potential to shed light on a family trauma that differs from the oft-explored addiction issues.
All the craft elements work together to form a relentless tension-filled whole. This begins with the main room with its dense, dark walls, freshly sawed wood smell and thin prison-like beams that separate the audience from the action in the set by Forest Entsminger. Director Benjamin Viertel establishes a pattern for using the areas of the tight space for conversation and confrontation. Due to the stage’s limitations, a secondary chamber in which a highly consequential and hugely disturbing scene takes place is too far audience right for the proper focus, though the outcome is impossible to miss. Realistic replicas of high grade weapons are the featured “decoration” of well-designed props by Samantha Tutasi. Shadowy lighting by Mary Ellen Stebbins signals the brewing danger.
At center is Marc Kudisch’s performance as Rock on a constant boil. While the always-excellent Karen Ziemba beautifully modulates Slipper’s subservience, it is 12 year old Julianna Layne as young Claire in flashback scenes who dials up the unease and ultimate sorrow in Rock’s relationships. Grace Church picks up Claire’s mantle but is given too many tattered ends to project a distilled image while Anna Roman’s stalwart Ashley suffers from too little color. Filling out the narrative are Glenn Seven Allen as Rock’s father known as The General and Justin Lee Miller in the dual roles of Rock’s doctor and a local police officer.
You may find Safe House as difficult to weather as the women under Rock’s care. But it does succeed in crowding out one’s own concerns for its 100 minutes of run time. Performances continue through September 13 in Theatre Four at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenue. Be warned: the venue is as cold as the suburban Pennsylvanian November that serves as the setting.
