"Heartless" But Not Cruel

It is not unusual for Sam Shepard to baffle even the most intent or admiring observer of his work. The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright knows his way around troubled families.

In "Heartless," his mystifying tale of a family at- home with its dysfunction, at the Pershing Square Signature Center extended through September 30th, nothing is permanent, not even death.

Betty Gilpin as Elizabeth and Julianne Nicholson as Sally in Sam Shepard's "Heartless." Photo (c) Joan Marcus.

There is the suggestion in "Heartless" that dysfunction is a natural state of affairs for families. That despite the fact that very little is normal in this household. Sally (Julianne Nicholson) has been saved by the implant of a murdered girl's heart. Her sister, Lucy (Jenny Bacon) indulges in the futility of curing their mother, Mabel (Lois Smith) of imaginary pains. To complicate matters, Sally has brought Roscoe (Gary Cole), a man estranged from his wife and children, home with her.  

Gary Cole as Roscoe, Betty Gilpin as Elizabeth, Lois Smith as Mabel, Jenny Bacon as Lucy (on roof), and Julianne Nicholson as Sally in "Heartless." Photo (c) Joan Marcus. 

"Heartless" is a confounding dramatic piece with a majestic breadth reflected in the set. The sparse yet expansive scenic design by Eugene Lee creates a vast landscape on which the story is played out. Daniel Aukin's able directing of the fine ensemble cast respects the disjunctive rhythms of "Heartless."

Lois Smith stands out in this fantastic panoply of actors. "Heartless" is, after all, also about the kind of cruelty that is typical of mother-love. Mabel is fiercely protective of Sally, who needs saving from night terrors and bad memories, and maybe even the accident of living.

For more information about "Heartless," and the new Signature Theatre season, please go to http://www.signaturetheatre.org/shows-and-events/index.aspx

Powerful "Temporal Powers" Is Part 2 For Mint's Deevy Project

It has been nearly 80 years since Teresa Deevy’s play won the Abbey Theatre’s New Play competition, but “Temporal Powers” still packs a wallop. Set in a small impoverished Irish town in the 1920s,”Temporal Powers,” currently in a production by The Mint Theater Company under the direction of Jonathan Bank, closing 25 Sept., extended to October 2nd 9th was deemed ”strikingly original and of fine literary quality” by the Abbey judges.

Money and the lack of it are powerful tests of any marriage, but the Donovans have such a completely different sense of right and wrong that it is not just their homelessness that can tear them apart. Michael (Aidan Redmond) is a fiercely moral man, so madly in love with Min (Rosie Benton), his wife of ten years, that she can bend his senses in any number of ways.

Aidan Redmond as Michael Donovan, Rosie Benton as Min Donovan (Photo Credit: Richard Termine) 

Michael is content to toil without enriching himself, for the pride of accomplishment. But unlike Michael, Min feels entitled to a better life. And she is not sure that she will get it just being his wife.

(See video at http://vimeo.com/channels/minttheater.)

The plot of “Temporal Powers” subtly twists, asking questions about fairness, and loyalty, as it makes its way around the rich cast of nine characters. The troupe all handle this intelligent material ably. Eli James, along with the leads, gives a particularly admirable performance as Michael’s true friend, Moses Barron. Thanks to the workings of the dialect coach, Amy Stoller, everyone’s speech is convincingly country Irish, yet easy to follow.

Please visit http://www.minttheater.org/ to find out more about “Temporal Powers” and The Mint’s Deevy Project.

"Temporal Powers" is part of the 1st Irish Festival 2011.

Photo Credits: Richard Termine

Eli James as Moses Barron, Wrenn Schmidt as Lizzie Brennan in a scene from Temporal Powers, written by Teresa Deevy and directed by Jonathan Bank presented by The Mint Theater Company 

Paul Carlin as Jim Slattery, Aidan Redmond as Michael Donovan in a scene from Temporal Powers, written by Teresa Deevy and directed by Jonathan Bank presented by The Mint Theater Company 

Aidan Redmond as Michael Donovan, Rosie Benton as Min Donovan in a scene from Temporal Powers, written by Teresa Deevy and directed by Jonathan Bank presented by The Mint Theater Company 

Rosie Benton as Min Donovan in a scene from Temporal Powers, written by Teresa Deevy and directed by Jonathan Bank presented by The Mint Theater Company 

Aidan Redmond as Michael Donovan, Rosie Benton as Min Donovan in a scene from Temporal Powers, written by Teresa Deevy and directed by Jonathan Bank presented by The Mint Theater Company