“Well Adjusted” at FringeNYC 2014 at the Sheen Center (Closes on Friday August 22, 2014)
“Well Adjusted” at FringeNYC 2014 at the Sheen Center (Closes on Friday August 22, 2014)
Written by Phil Horst
Directed by Marty Moore
Reviewed by David Roberts
Theatre Reviews Limited
After his two year (well, just over a year) breakup with ex-girlfriend Abby (Lora Lee Jones), Ben (Phil Horst) is still not well adjusted to the single life despite his protestations to the contrary. When he shows up in sweat pants and a white tee shirt at Kate’s (Sarah Elizabeth Edwards) apartment for a “bring your own wine” party, Kate knows he is not doing well. To make things worse, Ben’s friend Mark (Robert Rydland) decides Ben needs to move on and invites Ben’s ex to the party. This scenario is the delicious fodder for Phil Horst’s “Well Adjusted” currently running at the Sheen Center’s new Black Box Theatre as part of Fringe NYC 2014.
“Well Adjusted” is a fantastic farce waiting to happen. With pants on, pants off, shirt on, shirt off, door-slamming energy, this play should be very funny – and often it is. Despite his anger at Mark, Ben needs Mark’s clothes to wear so Abby will not think he is still pining for her. Despite Mark’s assumption, no one likes Abby who is indeed unlikable. Attempting to protect Ben from embarrassment, his friends construct a matrix of mistaken identities and gender-bending antics that drive a pleasing plot. Mr. Horst has endowed his characters with believability and the actors portray these characters with honesty and authenticity.
Director Marty Moore seems to shift her focus from the farcical underbelly of the play near the end of the first act and often allows the actors to settle into reverie and repose. When this happens, the energy on stage drops and the momentum of Mr. Horst’s script needs to re-discover its core of comedic power. Reminiscent of the best of 1990s sit-coms, “Well Adjusted” just needs some tweaking to keep the farce alive. Claire Chandler’s Beth, Kelsey Boggs’s Betsy and Deandra Irving’s Natasha reignite the second act and they conspire with the ensemble cast to recapture the audience’s interest and trust.
WELL ADJUSTED
“Well Adjusted” is presented by The Present Company (Elena K Holy, Producing Artistic Director). Directed by Marty Moore.
The cast of “Well Adjusted” includes Kelsey Boggs, Claire Chandler, Sarah Elizabeth Edwards, Phil Horst, Deandra Irving, Lora Lee Jones, and Robert Rydland.
For performance schedule, ticketing information and more information about the presenting company, please visit www.FringeNYC.org. For mobile ticketing, please visit www.FringeonTheFly.com. The running time is one hour and forty minutes with intermission.
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 | Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, August 11, 2014 |
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