“Chemistry” at FringeNYC 2014 at 64E4 Underground (Closed on Friday August 22, 2014)
Jonathan Hopkins and Lauren LaRocca in "Chemistry." Photo by Michelle Laird.
“Chemistry” at FringeNYC 2014 at 64E4 Underground (Closed on Friday August 22, 2014) Written by Jacob Marx Rice Directed by Anna Strasser Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Chemistry is the key to understanding the complexities inherent in Jacob Marx Rice’s “Chemistry,” which completed a sold out FringeNYC 2014 run on Friday August 22 and will reopen for an extended run in mid-September (details below). On the surface, it is the gripping story of a relationship born of pharmacology: Steph (Lauren LaRocca) and Jamie (Jonathan Hopins) meet at the office of the psychiatrist they share for brief talk-therapy and prescribed psychotropic medication to treat her chronic depression and his unipolar mania. But there is more than the chemistry of their brains and the chemistry of the relationship that develops between them that make “Chemistry” a remarkable play.
It is the chemistry between Mr. Hopins and Ms. LaRocca that truly electrifies the stage and enlivens Mr. Rice’s script. In its current state, the writing – though compelling and thought provoking – is sometimes uneven. It would be good, for example, to have a clearer resolution of Jamie’s attempts to process Steph’s suicide. And Ms. Strasser’s direction – though concise and credible – often places the actors on opposite sides of the stage as they provide exposition directly to the audience. This creates a dizzying ping-pong effect, which although it mimics a “bipolar” effect – does not serve the play well.
However, despite these minor issues, the actors make it all work. They create remarkable chemistry between actors and audience and between story and audience. And that chemistry creates layer after layer of connections in the audience member and this is where perhaps the real power of the piece lies: each audience member knows someone who is suffering from mental illness; indeed, that someone might be the audience member herself or himself.
The inexhaustible craft of Ms. LaRocca and Mr. Hopins creates believable and authentic characters: their Jamie and Steph cajole one another to connect to their illnesses and to one another; they connive to convince themselves and one another that hope need not be abandoned; and they collude ultimately in succumbing to the same matrix of woe that compelled them to trust in another human once again.
Make it a point to see “Chemistry” when it reopens mid September at SoHo Playhouse.
CHEMISTRY
“Chemistry” is presented by Audra Arnaudon in Association with The Present Company (Elena K. Holy, Producing Artistic Director). Directed by Anna Strasser.
The cast of “Chemistry” includes Jonathan Hopins and Lauren Larocca.
CEOExpress
