| . | 10/07/2009
Vigil
By: Victor Gluck
Malcolm Gets and Helen Stenborg
(Photo credit: Carol Rosegg)
Vigil , a new play from Morris Panych, one of Canada’s leading playwrights, probably wants to be taken as a comedy. However, as directed by Stephen DiMenna in its Off Broadway premiere, it comes across as a character study instead, moving from anger to compassion. This four-hander about a nephew who performs a deathwatch by the bedside of his aunt gives musical comedy star Malcolm Gets and veteran actress Helen Stenborg choice roles: she remains silent while he talks throughout.
Kemp (played by Gets) has received a letter from his Aunt Grace (Stenborg) telling him she is dying. He has quit his dull bank job and come 1,000 miles to be with her. He hasn’t seen her in 30 years, but then she hasn’t been in touch during the same time period either. Kemp is a damaged human being. He tells Grace and us of his dreadful childhood with his abusive, uncaring mother and manic-depressive father. He waited throughout his childhood for his globe trotting, glamorous Aunt Grace to come and take him away from his unhappy life. He can’t forgive her when she could have been his savior.
A lonely person, Kemp admits he has no friends and has shied away from all sexual opportunities. His misanthropic attitude may have been born of his experiences, but it hasn’t helped make him happy either. Unwanted and unloved, he applies his mordant humor to Aunt Grace. Although he takes care of Grace’s needs, his continuous monologue in each scene always comes back to her funeral or the fact that she has lived too long. Ironically, instead of dying, Grace seems to be getting better under his care. Some of the gallows humor deals with ways Kemp initially tries to kill Grace off which always seem to go wrong at his expense.
The play is a study in lives of quiet desperation. Kemp comes to realize that although she was a bad aunt, he was a worse nephew. The play is a tour de force for the two actors. In the course of their time together, Kemp moves from self-pity to compassion for a person other than himself. Stenborg who spends most of her time in her bed center stage must communicate entirely by facial expression and she runs the gamut of emotions entirely non-verbally.
Although DiMenna’s direction keeps the numerous blackouts from becoming repetitious, he has allowed Gets to make an unfortunate choice. Gets’ tone of voice makes him mean-spirited rather than urbane or witty as he talks of Grace’s funeral or suggests that she has outlived her time. As a result what might be extremely funny played in another style seems sarcastic rather than droll. Nevertheless, Gets’ subtle changes move Kemp’s characterization along, but the effect of all this is to make the play a drama rather than a comedy.
Andromache Chalfant has designed a fabulously detailed second floor bedroom under the eaves of an old house with many props around that suggest the life Grace has lived, even though she herself never describes it. From the faded flowered wall paper to the piles of magazines, to the hats scattered around the room, and the unused piano, Chalfant’s setting becomes a major character in itself. The costume design, however, is another thing.
Kemp appears to wear the same outfit throughout the play even though many months go by. The gimmick of his suitcase revealed to be empty when opened is used to explain this oversight. However, costume designer Ilona Somogyi might have given him some other accessories to suggest the passage of time. He has obviously been out food shopping. Why didn’t he buy something else to wear? On the other hand, Ed McCarthy’s lighting eloquently captures the light through Grace’s window at various times of day and at succeeding seasons.
Morris Panych’s Vigil offers a meticulous character study of lonely individuals who have been damaged by their life experiences. This black comedy with its gallows humor offers Malcolm Gets and Helen Stenborg two juicy roles of which they take full advantage.
Vigil (through Nov. 29)
DR2 Theatre, 103 E. 15th Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, call, 212-239-6200 or http://www.telecharge.com
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