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| Christina Elise Perry, Gabriel Rysdahl, Marie Dinolan, and Kirk Gostkowski as Nicole, Troy, Spoon, and Max. Photo by Matt Wells. |
Seen on: Wednesday, 4/09/25.
Plot and Background
The Chain Theatre presents the New York premiere of Eric Bogosian's 2002 play about a vacation "off the grid" is thrown fully off the grid when there is a mass power outage, the range of duration of which is unknown.What I Knew Beforehand
I have seen and reviewed a number of Chain productions over the years; and I knew some of Bogosian's work.Thoughts:
Play: It's chilling how current a play from over twenty years ago feels, particularly one so fixated on the technology available at that time: Palm Pilots, cell phones with patchy signals (that were not yet smartphones), and wall-mounted landlines and fax machines. As the characters, in the wake of both Y2K and 9/11, get distracted by cell phone calls, crab about increased TSA guidelines, and idly discuss the chances of another plague wiping out millions, there's a certain grimness to the Greek Tragedy of it all. We in the audience know the distant future, even as we don't know the immediate future awaiting these characters. What caused this blackout? How long will it last? And, even more grimly for us city-dwellers watching, the keen awareness that while out in nature these characters have some access to fresh food, those in the city would be cut off from supplies much more immediately. We remember the short-supply panic of March 2020.
So all this feels both prescient and immediate, and brings back memories of that isolation and uncertainty. Director Ella Jane New crafts the dynamics of the group with agility, maintaining the lines of tension as the dangers, both outside and in, increase.
Cast: Christina Elise Perry tracks Nicole's arc over the course of the play with dexterity and honesty: from no-nonsense boss-lady to flirty spouse, to a shell of herself, haunted by the chill of isolation and uncertainty. Her commitment to the journey, even when her character isn't the focus of the scene, gives an immediate gravity to the shifting ground beneath the characters' feet, and the audience can look to her to know the stakes of the situation. As her author husband Max, Kirk Gostkowski seems at first like he might be the voice of reason--trying to stay calm amid the panic, and dedicating himself to practical tasks like keeping them supplied in chopped wood for the fireplaces. But Gostkowski also plays the quiet panic underlying all of this, something he keeps at bay for weeks until finally it explodes. As their friends the seemingly shallow Hollywood couple of screenwriter Troy and actress Spoon, Gabriel Rysdahl and Marie Dinolan are charmingly insipid at first, but find different ways to shatter as their creature comforts disappear. As local caretaker Nat, Brandon Hughes brings an easy friendliness and earnest likeability to the role, but struggles when Nat's darker side comes out.
Design: David Henderson's detailed scenic design of the barn-turned-vacation cabin is impeccable: from the macrame wall hangings to the record collection, to the ancient kitchen appliances, he perfectly evokes a living area frozen in time decades before the early aughts in which the play takes place. There's even a sense that, because everything here is older and perhaps built of sturdier stuff than modern-day furnishings, that this house and its trappings will outlast everyone onstage. Greg Russ's sound design is unobtrusive but haunting--the constant crackling of the fire their seeming only defense against a full descent into untamed wilderness. Michael Abrams's lighting design cloaks the room in appropriate uncertain gloom without drowning them into a darkness we can't actually penetrate from the audience. And Rafaella Rossi's costume design tells its own subtle story, as the previously impeccably pristine wardrobes of alpha personalities like Nicole and Troy gradually deteriorate into wrinkles, grime-stains, and carelessness.
Running: Now playing at The Chain Theatre - Opening: April 3, 2025. Closing: May 3, 2025.
Category: play
Length: 2 hours, 10 minutes, including intermission.
Playwright: Eric Bogosian
Director: Ella Jane New
Designers: David Henderson (Set), Rafaella Rossi (Costume), Michael Abrams (Lighting), Greg Russ (Sound), Grace Loeb (Production Stage Manager), Mikaela Blanchard and Evie Brandford-Altsher (Production Assistant), Roni Sipp (Scenic Artist), Sara Quinn (Technical Direction), Dariel Garcia (Technical Consultant), Zachary Hobbs (Press Associate), Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR (Publicity).
Cast: Marie Dinolan, Gabriel Rysdahl, Brandon Hughes, Christina Elise Perry, Kirk Gostkowski.
Cast: Christina Elise Perry tracks Nicole's arc over the course of the play with dexterity and honesty: from no-nonsense boss-lady to flirty spouse, to a shell of herself, haunted by the chill of isolation and uncertainty. Her commitment to the journey, even when her character isn't the focus of the scene, gives an immediate gravity to the shifting ground beneath the characters' feet, and the audience can look to her to know the stakes of the situation. As her author husband Max, Kirk Gostkowski seems at first like he might be the voice of reason--trying to stay calm amid the panic, and dedicating himself to practical tasks like keeping them supplied in chopped wood for the fireplaces. But Gostkowski also plays the quiet panic underlying all of this, something he keeps at bay for weeks until finally it explodes. As their friends the seemingly shallow Hollywood couple of screenwriter Troy and actress Spoon, Gabriel Rysdahl and Marie Dinolan are charmingly insipid at first, but find different ways to shatter as their creature comforts disappear. As local caretaker Nat, Brandon Hughes brings an easy friendliness and earnest likeability to the role, but struggles when Nat's darker side comes out.
Design: David Henderson's detailed scenic design of the barn-turned-vacation cabin is impeccable: from the macrame wall hangings to the record collection, to the ancient kitchen appliances, he perfectly evokes a living area frozen in time decades before the early aughts in which the play takes place. There's even a sense that, because everything here is older and perhaps built of sturdier stuff than modern-day furnishings, that this house and its trappings will outlast everyone onstage. Greg Russ's sound design is unobtrusive but haunting--the constant crackling of the fire their seeming only defense against a full descent into untamed wilderness. Michael Abrams's lighting design cloaks the room in appropriate uncertain gloom without drowning them into a darkness we can't actually penetrate from the audience. And Rafaella Rossi's costume design tells its own subtle story, as the previously impeccably pristine wardrobes of alpha personalities like Nicole and Troy gradually deteriorate into wrinkles, grime-stains, and carelessness.
***
Running: Now playing at The Chain Theatre - Opening: April 3, 2025. Closing: May 3, 2025.
Category: play
Length: 2 hours, 10 minutes, including intermission.
Creative Team
Playwright: Eric Bogosian
Director: Ella Jane New
Designers: David Henderson (Set), Rafaella Rossi (Costume), Michael Abrams (Lighting), Greg Russ (Sound), Grace Loeb (Production Stage Manager), Mikaela Blanchard and Evie Brandford-Altsher (Production Assistant), Roni Sipp (Scenic Artist), Sara Quinn (Technical Direction), Dariel Garcia (Technical Consultant), Zachary Hobbs (Press Associate), Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR (Publicity).
Cast: Marie Dinolan, Gabriel Rysdahl, Brandon Hughes, Christina Elise Perry, Kirk Gostkowski.
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| Christina Elise Perry as Nicole. Photo by Matt Wells. |
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