[ssba]
@thespeedofjake
Review by Neal Weaver
Playwrights Arena at the Atwater Village Theatre
Through December 7
Jennifer Maisel’s new play, premiering with this production, examines the way we deal with grief, loss and death.
Clark (Ryan Yu) and Emily (Elizabeth Pan) were a happily married couple, devoted to their 10-year-old son Jake (whom we never see). But when Jake is suddenly killed in a hideous bicycle accident, their marriage is severely stressed.
Emily has tried to accept her loss and move on, but to Clark this seems like a betrayal of Jake. He insists on nursing his grief, and becomes obsessed with the idea that he might be able to communicate with the boy by electronic means — perhaps via the internet. He holes up in their apartment, hoarding Jake’s belongings and researching his theories about using electronic means to reach beyond the boundaries of death.
By this time Emily has moved out and seeks to divorce Clark, but he’s reluctant to sign the divorce papers even though she’s now pregnant by her new lover, Richard (David Carey Foster). She still cares about Ryan and is concerned by his retreat from reality. She, along with Richard and Clark’s loyal sister Sam (Celeste Den) must strive to bring him back to the land of the living.
Maisel’s play is based on intriguing ideas. Her characters are well-drawn and her dialog is always pithy. But there’s one basic flaw in her material: Clark is a determined fanatic, and it’s hard to make fanaticism sympathetic. We can understand that he’s unable to accept the finality of Jake’s death, but when he continues to determinedly pursue his wrong-headedness despite the pain he’s causing those around him, he becomes merely annoying.
Yu plays Clark with fidelity and conviction, but the cards are stacked against him. It’s not his fault that the plight of the other characters is more moving than his. Pan makes Emily’s desperation richly apparent, and it’s no surprise that it’s the realization that her pain and grief is as strong as his that finally penetrates Clark’s defenses. Den makes Sam an engagingly rueful figure, and Foster lends real backbone to a sparsely written character. There’s also a nice turn by Renee Threatte as a hooker who’s more interested in a physical relationship with Clark than in aiding in his research.
Director Jon Lawrence Rivera gives the piece a solid production on John Iacovelli’s simple but effective set.
Playwrights’ Arena at the Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Avenue, Atwater Village. Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 3 p.m., Mon. 7 p.m., through December 7. (800) 838-3006 or https://jake.brownpapertickets.com. Running time 90 minutes with no intermission.
