Gordon Clapp and Jenni Putney star in "Trick or Treat: (Photo: Heidi Bohnenkamp)
It takes Eugene O’Neill nearly four hours to reveal that Mary Tyrone is a closeted drug addict in “A Long Day’s Journey into Night.” Jack Neary takes only 100 minutes — including an intermission — to deliver far more reveals, a few of them false, in his new play, “Trick or Treat,” which opened Sunday at the 59E59 Theater.
In the first act of “Trick or Treat,” which takes place on Halloween, Neary maintains an uncomfortable balance between farcical comedy and kitchen-sink drama. The jokes about Justin Bieber and the Kardashians seem forced coming from the mouth of the 60-something father, Johnny (Gordon Clapp), who relishes dishing out supersize candy to all the kids in the neighborhood. Clapp convincingly plays this latter-day Archie Bunker who dotes on Tucker Carlson. But then he quickly, too quickly for the good of the play, makes a bold confession to his adult daughter, Claire (Jenni Putney). He embellishes it with scatological details that more than squelch any laughter despite the noisy appearance of a nosey neighbor, Hannah (Kathy McCafferty), who smells something foul afoot, and her old boyfriend, Johnny’s hothead cop-son Teddy (David Mason), who clearly has anger management issues not only on the job but with Hannah.
Carol Dunne’s direction never finds the right focus in this short but confused first act. Then again, her actors have been given the near-impossible task of having to play high drama in an absurd situation with a few sit-com jokes thrown in the mix. It’s a little like watching “Arsenic and Old Lace” if one or both of the aunts had Alzheimer’s and wore Depends.
What Neary does pull off with complete success is the surprise appearance of the play’s most talked-about character. It’s the kind of coup de théâtre that can only be followed by a quick blackout and that aforementioned intermission. For the next 15 minutes, the theater buzzes with, “I didn’t see that coming!”
The New York stage is currently overcrowded with mentally challenged women. In “The Ferryman” and “Girl From the North Country” (to reopen, on Broadway, this spring), we’re treated to elderly female characters who exhibit a kind of magical Alzheimer’s that gives them great wisdom, as well as the power to see the future. Nancy in “Trick or Treat” is closer to Gladys in “The Waverly Gallery,” the role now essayed by Elaine May on Broadway. Kathy Manfre in “Trick or Treat” is nearly as good as May, and helps to ground the far more stable second act of Neary’s play.
Gone are the jokes about pop stars, but the twists in the plot keep piling up, pushing “Trick or Treat” into soap-opera territory. Mason is so effective as the cop-gone-wrong that we almost believe he could cause so much havoc. But much of that havoc comes from there being way too much plot.
10 Best Theater Productions of 2018, From 'Ferryman' to 'Bernhardt/Hamlet' (Photos)
TheWrap theater critic Robert Hofler picks the best stage productions of the year.
10. "Bernhardt/Hamlet," by Theresa Rebeck (Broadway, Roundabout)
Sarah Bernhardt wants it all and gets it in Rebeck's grand comedy about the greatest feat of cross-dressing in the theater.
9. "Pass Over," by Antoinette Nwandu (Off Broadway, Lincoln Center Theater)
The inescapable prison of "Waiting for Godot" is turned into a Chicago street corner that two men can't escape except through death.
8. "The Ferryman," by Jez Butterworth (Broadway)
The author of "Jerusalem" borrows effectively from Friel, Steinbeck, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Riverdance in his look back at a Northern Ireland that even Margaret Thatcher would applaud. How this play will perform in Ireland, if it ever gets there, is anyone's guess.
7. "Downstairs," by Theresa Rebeck (Off Broadway, Primary Stages)
Demons lurk upstairs, as well as in the basement, where an emotionally unstable man has taken up unexpected residence in his sister's house. This thriller gets scary long before you even realize it's a thriller.
6. "Dance Nation," by Clare Barron (Off Broadway, Playwrights Horizons)
Young girls and one boy in a dance competition grow up but never leave their adolescence behind in this poignant comedy. There's nothing trivial about being 13 years old. In fact, there's nothing worse.
5. "Queens," by Martyna Majok (Off Broadway, Lincoln Center Theater)
Taking up temporary residence in a Queens, N.Y., basement, two generations of immigrant women learn lessons of survival and Americanization in this sweeping saga of hope and desperation.
4. "Skintight," by Joshua Harmon (Off Broadway, Roundabout Theatre Company)
Coping with rage after her husband's dumps her for a much younger woman, a middle-aged woman finds little comfort from a father who's about to marry a much, much younger man. Arguably the most underrated new play of the year.
3. "The House That Will Not Stand," by Marcus Gardley (Off Broadway, New York Theatre Workshop)
Gabriel Garcia Lorca tangles with Charles Ludlam in this brilliant retelling of "The House of Bernard Alba," set in a New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase.
2. "The Low Road," Bruce Norris (Off Broadway, Public Theater)
A foundling in the 18th century teaches us much about unbridled capitalism. This sprawling picaresque tale takes unexpected detours to a G8 summit as well as a sci-fi movie.
1. "Hangmen," by Martin McDonagh (Off Broadway, Atlantic Theatre Company)
The abolition of the death penalty in the U.K. doesn't prevent a retired executioner from taking one more life.
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TheWrap’s Best & Worst 2018: Visionary directors delivered amazing revivals of ”My Fair Lady,“ ”Oklahoma!“ and ”Three Tall Women,“ but great new plays dominated this year
TheWrap theater critic Robert Hofler picks the best stage productions of the year.
Robert Hofler, TheWrap's lead theater critic, has worked as an editor at Life, Us Weekly and Variety. His books include "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson," "Party Animals," and "Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange, How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos." His latest book, "Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne," is now in paperback.