Review: Fifty Words

October 11, 2008 by  

(This review was originally published on Blogcritics.)

In Michael Weller’s new play Fifty Words, Jan and Adam are reveling in their Brooklyn brownstone at the freedom of their first night home alone in nine years without their son, Greg. While this might be a time for great passion it also leads to years of built up tension finally being revealed.

Adam states “There is no stress in Brooklyn tonight,” but the audience knows that is not true. In the beginning of the play we see two characters that seem to be excited at the idea of being home alone but at the same time stop themselves from saying certain things and keep themselves at a distance. A simmer has started and we are just waiting for the pot to boil over. What boils over is an evening is failed dreams, difficult challenges, and disappointments that all contribute to the unraveling of this middle class marriage.

While the play reminds us of the domestic classics from Strindberg, O’Neill and Albee what this play focuses on is that love is many things all at the same time. The show’s title comes from Jan’s suggestion that there should be 50 words for love, the way Eskimos have so many words for snow. The play weaves through an extreme of emotions all grounded in Jan and Adam’s desire to connect and find meaning in what has become of their marriage and their lives.

While Weller’s dialogue is clean and sharp the strength is in performances by Elizabeth Marvel and Norbert Leo Butz. They are lead by the direction of Austin Pendleton who juxtaposes fast paced dialogue with long pauses to let the audience reflect and transition deeper into the evening. The subtle shift of time is aided greatly by the lighting of Michelle Habeck. Neil Patel’s set design is clean and concise and Mimi O’Donnell costume’s fit the story. Josh Schmidt wrote the original music; and Fitz Patton created the sound.

Fifty Words By Michael Weller; Norbert Leo Butz (Adam) and Elizabeth Marvel (Jan); directed by Austin Pendleton; sets by Neil Patel; costumes by Mimi O’Donnell; lighting by Michelle Habeck; original music by Josh Schmidt; sound by Fitz Patton; production stage manager, Pamela Edington. Presented by the MCC Theater, At the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, Greenwich Village; (212) 279-4200. EXTENDED through Nov. 8. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

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