| . | 10/13/2009
Still Life
By: Victor Gluck
Kelly McAndrew, Sarah Paulson, Frederick Weller and Ian Kahn in a scene from Still Life
(Photo credit: Robert J. Saferstein)
Carrie Ann is a world famous photographer. Suddenly, after the death of her father, she is unable to pick up her camera. Jeff is a trend analyst who advises advertising firms on which way society is moving. However, just as he is becoming disillusioned with the way his analysis is being used, he is told that there is a shadow on his ultrasound that could mean anything.
Carrie Ann and Jeff meet at her latest exhibition called “The Fairest of the Fowl: Portraits of Championship Chickens,” the last pictures she had taken before her father died. The pictures are of small animals photographed in a way that makes them seem peaceful, majestic, haunting and beautiful. Jeff is overwhelmed and approaches Carrie Ann. They begin a whirlwind romance: are they each what the other is looking for? Can they save each other from their fears and self-imposed inertia?
Alexander Dinelaris’ Still Life is a seminal portrait of Generation X, both in its successes and its weaknesses. The play is witty and clever, bright and fresh, a romantic drama that has something to say and a strong message. This genre is rare today and an endangered species. Under director Will Frears’ taut and sensitive staging, the characters ring true and the play moves with the speed of contemporary cinema. In fact, the play will make an even better film with its many short scenes and quick, bristling exchanges.
While the previous era worried about the Cold War and the atom bomb, Generation X, according to Dinelaris, has many more things to worry about: global warming, the ozone layer, the AIDS virus, carbohydrates and cholesterol in our diet, lead in the tap water. As Carrie Ann advises a group of young photographers in her first appearance, “The world is disappearing before our eyes. Shoot it. Before it’s gone.” On the other hand, Jeff tells his Generation X boss, “We all want to live. We just need permission.”
Jessie, a member of Generation Y, sums up Carrie Ann’s photography show of the dead animals saying, “They’re us. … Living every minute wondering when the axe will come down and take our heads off.” The title “Still Life” is a pun referring both to Carrie Ann’s still life photographs, and according to the playwright’s note, “… no matter what, there is still life.” Generation X is still trying to learn how to move on.
David Korins’ basic unit set with its long table, window, and pillars allows the play’s many scenes to flow from stage left to stage right with minimal changes, almost like film cuts. The set takes us from a university lecture hall to a Village art gallery to Carrie Ann’s equally minimalist apartment. Occasionally, a split stage effect is used with two scenes occurring simultaneously. Most of the scenes segue smoothly into the next using the same line of dialogue in a new context. Sarah J. Holden’s attractive contemporary costumes define the characters and their life styles.
As the heroine, Sarah Paulson, seen on such television series as Cupid, Studio 60, Deadwood, Leap of Faith, and Nip/Tuck, is, in the words of Jeff, a “funny, bright, opinionated, fiercely independent …woman.” Suffering from grief, she is also quick to anger but distanced from her true emotions. Her performance brings to mind Meg Ryan in a serious role. Previously seen on Broadway in Glengarry Glen Ross, Take Me Out and Seascape, Frederick Weller makes Jeff sympathetic with his self-effacing manner, sensitive but quick on the uptake.
The supporting cast is made up of talented and engaging people creating a colorful, contemporary microcosm. Adriane Lenox, Tony Award winner for Doubt, gives another strong, incisive performance as Joanne, Carrie Ann’s mentor, who has been both a positive and negative force in her life. Matthew Rauch, remembered for Red Bull Theater’s invigorating revivals of Edward II and The Revenger’s Tragedy, has the juiciest role as Jeff’s crude, vulgar and horny boss, the guy you love to hate. Rauch plays his role to the max, a Mad Man, circa 2009. Ian Kahn makes Sean, Jeff’s best friend from college, sympathetic and appealing, a strong counterbalance to Rauch’s macho and aggressive Terry.
Veteran actor Dominic Chianese, now best known for his role as “Uncle Junior” on HBO’s The Sopranos,
plays the underwritten role of Theo, Carrie Ann’s dying father, in several flashbacks. Halley Feiffer, seen in recent years in The Second Stage’s productions of subUrbia, Election Day, and Some Americans Abroad, extends her range playing four characters including Jessie, the neurotic but talented student who becomes Carrie Ann’s protégé, as well as three women in Terry’s life. Kelly McAndrew also impresses with three roles covering the gamut from Mary, Sean’s unassuming wife, to Michaeline, a bartender, a tough lady who gives as good as she gets.
Still Life works on many levels from romance to play of ideas. It also sums up a generation that has usually defied dramatic analysis. Rising playwright Alexander Dinelaris has been given a fine world premiere production by MCC Theater. This is a young writer with something to say from whom we should be hearing from again soon. Look for his well-received Red Dog Howls which was nominated for several Los Angeles Ovation Awards.
Still Life (through November 1)
MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, call 212-279-4200 or http://www.ticketcentral.com
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