NEW YORK—Alcohol is a great equalizer. It can make people feel relaxed, jocular, free of inhibitions, mean-spirited, and at times, cruel. It can also cause insecurities to be magnified and deeply buried feelings to emerge, some of which may be better left unsaid.
Playwright Adam Bock examines all of the above-mentioned situations in the hilarious, poignant, and all-too-true at times The Drunken City.
This particular evening, three twenty-something suburbanites, Melissa (Maria Dizzia), Marnie (Cassie Beck), and Linda (Sue Jean Kim) have come into New York City to celebrate Marnie's impending nuptials to the unseen Gary.
Linda is also engaged, as was Melissa, until she caught her boyfriend cheating on her. But tonight is all about Marnie and by the time we catch up the trio, they are totally plastered and feeling no pain. (They lost their designated diver sometime back.)
In the midst of bar-hopping the three meet up with Eddie (Barrett Foa) a tap dancing dentist, and his friend Frank (Mike Colter), who is having trouble getting over his last girlfriend who dumped him over a year ago. As the tipsy quintet exchange greetings, sparks begin to fly between Marnie and Frank, to the consternation of the other three.
It seems Marnie may have made a mistake in accepting her boyfriend's proposal, but is too scared to tell her friends and family. Melissa harbors the biggest resentment in this matter since she dated Gary before he left her for Marnie.
Elsewhere, Linda is just trying to maintain her equilibrium as she has a bit of a drinking problem, while Eddie is trying to protect Frank from Marnie's well-meaning girlfriends as well as from ex-marine Bob (Alfredo Narciso), who Melissa calls in for some extra help. (Bob owns a bakery where all three girls work.)
Before the evening is over, things will have been said which cannot be taken back, choices will have been made and none of the six will ever be the same (though deep down they may not have wanted to be).
Bock has come up with a novel concept for his play, basically having all the characters (expect Bob, who comes into the story later) drunk. As a result, we see humor and drama literally working side by side through a haze of alcohol-induced situations.
But more importantly, these are characters that quickly change from stereotypes and representations to flesh and blood people, each carrying their own private brand of pain.
As a result, one cares very much about what happens on stage and follows quite willingly in whichever direction the story goes.
The entire cast works extremely well together, making for some great ensemble performances, along with numerous individual moments to allow each actor to stand out. Credit must also go to Trip Cullman's very strong direction and David Korins' rather bare but very imaginative set. The lighting design by Matthew Richards and sound design by Bart Fasbender is also very good.
This is a play which could conceivably go further than its relatively brief running time as, while the show ends quite believably, one is quite curious to see what will happen next to this very interesting group of people.
The Drunken City
Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater
416 West 42nd Street
Tickets: 212-279-4200 or www.playwrightshorizons.org
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Closes: April 20, 2008
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London newspaper The Stage.
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