Naphtali’s (Taylor Trensch) world-famous performance artist mother (Cynthia Nixon) disappeared suddenly seven years ago. And yet, he sees her everywhere: in the faces of friends, coworkers, the guy he’s flirting with. When his mother returns with few answers and a major request, Naphtali is forced to confront what he’s spent years trying to forget. A funny, deeply human mystery of mothers and sons, coming of age, and coming apart. This production marks a return to The New Group for Cynthia Nixon, where she directed Rasheeda Speaking and Steve, and appeared on stage in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, directed by Scott Elliott. This marks a New Group debut for playwright Jordan Seavey and Taylor Trensch.
Not able completely to keep all Seavey’s twists clear, Scott Elliott nonetheless directs with style. He’s greatly helped by lighting director Jeff Croiter, sound designers Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen, and perhaps most of all by projection designer Narun. Despite Seavey’s many distracting features, they all contribute to an unusually elegant production, maybe elegant in spite of itself.
Nixon, a delicately skilled stage performer, plays each character as a slightly exaggerated persona, like roles an artist might try on to demonstrate that identity is a kind of drag. If there are psychoanalytic underpinnings to this approach, they’re not compellingly explored. The result is two actors operating in uneven registers throughout, with Trensch as the so-called straight man to Nixon’s shuffle of mild caricatures. (The exceptions are mother-son confrontations that Elliott pitches as earplug-worthy shouting matches.)
2024 | Off-Broadway |
New Group Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Cynthia Nixon |
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