“theMUMBLINGS” at the New York International Fringe Festival at Teatro LATEA
“theMUMBLINGS” at the New York International Fringe Festival at Teatro LATEA Written by Dan Kitrosser Directed by Charles Foster Cohen Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Somewhat like Edward Albee’s George and Martha, Allen (Keith Foster) and Jodie (Lynne Rosenberg) retell stories from their past in a synergetic effort to delude the sinister scythe of truth. The unnamed and elusive child in Allen and Jodie’s disconsolate story is not disclosed through retellings of Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness banter but through Allen’s recurring retelling of his “Mumblings” story. Unlike the marriage of George and Martha wherein George’s sexual status is sometimes challenged by Martha in one of her “bellowing outbursts,” in Dan Kitrosser’s “the MUMBLINGS” Allen’s sexual status is undisputed. Allen is unabashedly gay and is married to an equally audaciously straight woman. This marriage – not necessarily of convenience – creates couple conflicts which drive sundry salacious and spiritual plots.
Allen’s belief that he can compartmentalize his life and be a significant part of Jodie’s life without “having to be gay” proves not only problematic but also pernicious. In a series of slice-of-life vignettes, Allen and Jodie rehearse the journey of their relationship from friends to a married couple to estranged and exhausted helpmeets searching for meaning in a terrain strewn with sorrow, disappointment, and avoidance.
Dan Kitrosser’s script tackles an important issue: gay men who marry straight women in an attempt to detour the important task of acquiring self-acceptance and find surcease from coming to terms with their authentic and honorable sexual status. This important play also focuses on the straight women who marry them and who often forfeit their needs for deep affection and a sense of belonging. Keith Foster and Lynne Rosenberg wear their characters’ feelings on their sleeves and deliver exquisite, honest, and authentic performances, baring the souls of two individuals in love and in marriage for perhaps all the wrong reasons.
Under Charles Foster Cohen’s deft and seemingly effortless direction, Mr. Foster and Ms. Rosenberg become their own pasts, sailing through scene after scene of “mumblings,” things that have gone bump in their individual and collective lives. Finally, like Martha, Jodie realizes that “it’s over.” She is tired of “repeating stories” and avoiding the truth. Like George, Allen, too, is ready to face the future a bit more unafraid: in his inimitable Skid-a-ma-rink style, Allen finishes Sophie’s story convincing the child there is no reason to be afraid and even less reason not to move forward.
THE MUMBLINGS
“theMUMBLINGS” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and the Box Colony Theatre at Teatro LATEA, 107 Suffolk Street, 2nd Floor (Rivington and Delancey).
All performances of “theMUMBLINGS” take place at on the following schedule: Wednesday August 21st at 8:30 p.m.; and Thursday August 22nd at 3:45 p.m. Tickets are $18.00 at the door and $15.00 for advance purchase. The running time is 1 hour and 40 minutes. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team, please visit www.boxcolonytheatre.org For more information about the 17th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, August 20, 2013
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