Rancho Viejo ** C-

When I looked back at my review of Dan LeFranc’s previous production at Playwrights Horizons (The Big Meal in 2012), my heart sank. If I found that one overlong at 90 minutes, how would I possibly make it through his new 3-act play, which clocked in at 3 1/2 hours at the first preview? (It’s down to 3 hours 5 minutes as of last night.) From what I gather, there have been so many changes almost nightly that the play might be substantially different by the time it opens next week. I doubt that its essential core will be altered though. Basically, it’s a look — a long look — at the vacuousness of comfortable suburban life in a fictional community in Southern California, likely in Orange County. Add to that several absurdist touches and a few less than profound discussions of the nature of happiness and art. We meet four couples, three of retirement age and one still working, plus an enigmatic teenage boy and a scene-stealing dog. The main focus is on Pete (a marvelous Mark Blum) and Mary (a subdued Mare Winningham), a childless couple who have just moved to town and are trying without much success to fit in. Pete is a marvelous creation. If there were an Olympic event in social awkwardness, he would take home the gold. Mary might nab bronze. One of the play’s main sources of pleasure is to await the next unbelievably awkward remark out of Pete’s mouth. Forget Asperger’s; he’s on a spectrum of his own. Mary’s problem is subtler: it is her neediness for friendship that drives people away. When Pete learns that Richie, the unseen son of Patti (Julia Duffy) and Gary (Mark Zeisler), is getting divorced, he becomes inappropriately upset and obsessed with the idea of saving Richie’s marriage. The other couples are Mike (Bill Buell) and Anita (Ruth Aguilar). The vibrant Anita is Guatemalan; she has a few long speeches in Spanish that go untranslated. Leon (Tyrone Mitchell Henderson), an African-American IT guy, and Suzanne (Lusia Strus), a real estate agent with an eye problem, are an unmarried couple with a large dog Mochi (Marti). Much of the first two acts takes place at parties at the home of one couple or another. Since the same set (by Dane Laffrey) represents the generic Southwestern living room of all four homes, it is sometimes hard to figure out where a given scene is taking place. Not that it matters much. Tate (Ethan Dubin), the sullen teenager who has little to do except lurk in the first two acts, comes into focus in a very strange scene near the beginning of Act 3. Does he ever! Jessica Pabst has dressed everyone aptly. Daniel Aukin’s direction seems attuned to the material. There are several funny moments, but the plot and the character development are minimal. I doubt that these are people that you would seek out to spend an evening with. I was pleasantly surprised that very few audience members left during either intermission.

Casa Valentina (revisited) ***

When the opportunity to attend opening night arose unexpectedly, I decided to pay a return visit to see how the play had changed since I saw an early preview 2 1/2 weeks ago. Here's what I had to say the first time around:

For Harvey Fierstein to have three plays running on Broadway simultaneously is quite an achievement, but in this instance the third time is not a charm. His first non-musical (I dare not say "straight" play) in decades, now in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club, has a lot going for it, especially an outstanding cast and an intriguing fact-inspired premise. In the early 60's there was a resort colony in the Catskills that catered to the needs of married heterosexual transvestites. To see such New York theater stalwarts as Patrick Page (George/Valentina), Reed Birney (Charlotte), John Cullum (Terry) and Larry Pine (The Judge/Amy) in full drag is an experience not soon to be forgotten. (Birney's Charlotte bears an uncanny resemblance to both Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead.) Gabriel Ebert (Jonathon/Miranda) plays a younger first-time visitor and Nick Westrate (Gloria) is the friend who encouraged his visit. Tom McGowan is hilarious as Bessie, an overweight ex-sergeant who has a Wilde quotation for every occasion. Mare Winningham is George's devoted wife Rita. Lisa Emery has a short but important role as Eleanor, the daughter of one of the guests. The play has some comic moments, but ends up in much darker territory. The lengthy first act sags (I resisted the urge to say "drags") in the middle for a long stretch. Although the play addresses many interesting themes such as heterosexual transvestites' hatred of homosexuals, governmental intrusion and manipulation, budding activism and the collateral damage caused by people's life choices, I could not fathom what it was the playwright wanted the audience to take away from it. David Zinn's set and Kaye Voyce's costumes are effective. Director Joe Mantello makes the best of what is there, but cannot overcome the play's lack of focus. I'm sure things will be tightened up a bit during the two weeks of previews that remain, but I doubt that tinkering can solve the play's problems. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

This time around, I was even more impressed by the excellence of the cast. They have deepened their performances and grown as an ensemble. The pace of the first act has improved and the arguments at the "sorority" meeting better reflect the individuality of the characters without seeming as pedantic as I first found them. Unfortunately, the problems of the second act have not gone away. What had seemed a sensitive group character study turns melodramatic. While I did not expect the ending to tie everything up with a neat bow, I still felt frustrated that the abrupt ending left too many issues unresolved. I wish the play had been given more time for workshops or an out-of-town tryout, because I think there is still a better play hiding somewhere inside. Nevertheless, because of the deeply affecting performances of the outstanding cast, I have changed my rating from two stars to three.

Casa Valentina **

For Harvey Fierstein to have three plays running on Broadway simultaneously is quite an achievement, but in this instance the third time is not a charm. His first non-musical (I dare not say "straight" play) in decades, now in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club, has a lot going for it, especially an outstanding cast and an intriguing fact-inspired premise. In the early 60's there was a resort colony in the Catskills that catered to the needs of married heterosexual transvestites. To see such New York theater stalwarts as Patrick Page (George/Valentina), Reed Birney (Charlotte), John Cullum (Terry) and Larry Pine (The Judge/Amy) in full drag is an experience not soon to be forgotten. (Birney's Charlotte bears an uncanny resemblance to both Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead.) Gabriel Ebert (Jonathon/Miranda) plays a younger first-time visitor and Nick Westrate (Gloria) is the friend who encouraged his visit. Tom McGowan is hilarious as Bessie, an overweight ex-sergeant who has a Wilde quotation for every occasion. Mare Winningham is George's devoted wife Rita. Lisa Emery has a short but important role as Eleanor, the daughter of one of the guests. The play has some comic moments, but ends up in much darker territory. The lengthy first act sags (I resisted the urge to say "drags") in the middle for a long stretch. Although the play addresses many interesting themes such as heterosexual transvestites' hatred of homosexuals, governmental intrusion and manipulation, budding activism and the collateral damage caused by people's life choices, I could not fathom what it was the playwright wanted the audience to take away from it. David Zinn's set and Kaye Voyce's costumes are effective. Director Joe Mantello makes the best of what is there, but cannot overcome the play's lack of focus. I'm sure things will be tightened up a bit during the two weeks of previews that remain, but I doubt that tinkering can solve the play's problems. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

Picnic **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
60 years ago, William Inge's drama of sexual repression in a small Kansas town won the Pulitzer. Alas, time has not been kind. What must have seemed daring and edgy then has lost most of its force. It may be churlish to find fault with a production that brings us such fine actors as Mare Winningham, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Marvel and Reed Birney, but the focus of the play is on Maggie Grace and Sebastian Stan, who, although they each look terrific, do not generate much heat. The supporting cast, which includes Madeleine Martin, Ben Rappaport, Maddie Corman, Cassie Beck, Chris Perfetti and Lizbeth Mackay, are all fine, but that only underlines the relative weakness of the central couple. Marvel and Birney virtually steal the play. After the horrible set he created for "Look Back in Anger," I was surprised to see Roundabout turn again to Andrew Lieberman. He apparently likes shallow, cramped sets. The rusty corrugated panels that fill the stage behind the two houses are most unattractive. Perhaps his intent was to illustrate the confines of small-town life, but his set is ungainly. David Zinn's costumes recreate the period well. Sam Gold's direction works most of the time, but the lack of a charismatic lead couple undercuts the play's impact. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.

Tribes ****

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Director David Cromer, whose production of Our Town at Barrow Street Theatre was so widely acclaimed, is back with an Olivier-nominated family drama by Nina Raine about deafness and language. Billy (Russell Harvard), the deaf youngest child of an intellectual family headed by retired academic Christopher (Jeff Perry) and would-be novelist Beth (Mare Winningham), is a very skilled lip-reader, but was deliberately never taught sign language. His seriously depressed brother Daniel (Will Brill) is writing a dissertation on the inadequacy of language. His sister Ruth (Gayle Rankin) is an unsuccessful opera singer. His self-absorbed parents and siblings may hear, but they don't listen. Billy's feeling of isolation when he is left out of their intellectual battles goes unnoticed. When he falls in love with Sylvia (Susan Pourfar), a young woman active in the deaf community who is herself going deaf and who teaches him sign language, Billy's feelings toward his family change dramatically. A subplot about him working for the court system reading lips from surveillance videos misfires. The cast is uniformly excellent. The set by Scott Pask makes good use of the limited space. Staging the play in the round (in the square, actually) works quite well. The play presents interesting arguments about whether embracing deaf culture is liberating or limiting. It is far from perfect, but it is thought-provoking and deeply felt. It's not for everyone, but I was glad I saw it. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.