The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/31/13 at 10:58pm

Saw this tonight and it was harmless, but dull and without dramatic thrust.

The plot revolved around Tom, played by David Morse, who was just released from prison after serving a 5 year stint for Bernie Madoff type crimes. His family has cut all ties and want nothing to do with him, but he talks his son into letting him crash for one month while he attempts to get his life back on track.

There were some positives:

David Morse gives a nice, restrained performance. He's a very fine actor and did the best overcoming any shortcomings in the script.

The dialogue, while never sharp or clever, never felt forced or phony. The characters didn't sit around discussing Neapolitan ice cream for 15 minutes either.

The big issue was that the characters kept having the same conversation over and over. The first act lasted an hour, and it was A LOT of set-up. I expected act two to have some pretty hefty payoff, but alas all they did was discuss the same things they talked about in the first act again! The play never built up to anything. It wasn't pointless- it just became very uninteresting pretty quickly.

My other major complaint was that several of the play's main character were never seen. They were talked about, so much so that they were more fully drawn than some of the characters on stage, but we never got the satisfaction of seeing them interact. It's not dramatically interesting to hear people go on and on about characters we don't get to experience.

This is an interesting progression for Steven Levenson after Language of Trees. The dialogue wasn't so believable in his earlier work, but that play was more ambitious and the themes more interesting. This play starts to bring up some worthwhile ideas, but only scratches the surface when exploring them.

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 12:10am

I really enjoyed this show. Overall it's a very satisfying and engaging drama. Roughly 20 people even gave it a standing ovation. Lots of fireworks and screaming in Act II. Deals with compelling issues of blackmail, divorce, lying, love, marriage, etc. You feel the rage and the hurt when one of the characters screams to another "I f*cked up, I f*cked up" several times during Act II. The mother communicates her anger and hurt very effectively in her scenes.

To make the show even better, Act I could use about 10 minutes of trimming of the "small talk" in the first scene with the father & son. There's a lot of juicy bits in this show, so let's get right into the relationships with the characters without the small talk. I think people are going to like this show.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 6:20am

I thought this started out promising but became very dull about 2/3 through the first act. At some point, you realize this isn't actually going to go anywhere. I wouldn't recommend.

Updated On: 6/3/13 at 06:20 AM

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 9:44am

I must say that this show was as dull as dishwater. I agree with what has been said by others about the fact that nothing happens.

The only times I was ever interested in the story was when James and Katie had scenes together. Every time there was family drama my eyes glazed over and I completely checked out. Part of that might have to do with the fact that I HATED David Morse's performance. I think he's so one note and monotone that I was never engaged by this character who you're supposed to empathize with and none of that was happening. I've never been a fan of his and seeing him perform on stage hasn't helped that fact. I found that Rich Sommer's character had no real purpose other than exposition that you don't really care about nor really furthers the plot.

The set was also not doing much for me. I have no problem with the generic apt on a turntable but these both felt very static. I think it stems from the marshy community college setting that takes up the other portion of the stage. And don't get me started on the weird carseat thing which I was trying to figure out if they were driving around talking with no hands.

Usually I can see a good play hidden within something but there was no real meat here and nothing to take away from it. While it's not as bad as the last Roundabout dude (THE BIG KNIFE), I still wouldn't recommend it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 9:48am

Clyde, I agree with you about the set. The marsh/school set overtook the stage and hindered the production. They should have just centered the turntable and made it bigger with three sets instead of two.

TalkinLoud, Yes it's a promising premise that really never takes off.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 11:10am

Clyde, a shame you missed David Morse's performance in How I Learned to Drive. He was absolutely riveting onstage then, in a role that seethed with subtext beneath the seemingly taciturn exterior.

[gchris11]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 11:14am

It is a good thing the seats at the Laura Pells theater are comfortable in the mezz. Sounds like I will be sleeping through this one next week. (It is part of our subscription).

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 1:37pm

A friend of us said not to go. We went & found it interesting & competent - not the best but not the worst we have seen

One problem (have encountered this with other shows in smaller venues) is that they apparently do not use mikes & the acoustics are horrible. Other than times when some characters were shouting you had to strain to hear what they were saying most of the time. The actors should talk louder or management should invest in microphones.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 6/9/13 at 7:27pm

I caught this last night. Seems like they cut it down a bit as it ran 1 hour 45 minutes without an intermission.

I would only recommend this if you have run out of other shows to see. It's well acted, but not all that compelling. Very middle of the road.

Updated On: 6/9/13 at 07:27 PM

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/14/13 at 12:19pm

It seems as though they can't even give tickets away to this one. Does Roundabout stuff close early? I don't have any memory of one of their shows doing so but this one seems like a great case for it.

[gchris11]

Posted: 6/14/13 at 12:23pm

Saw it (Slept through most of it) Wednesday. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz, Good thing the seats at the Laura Pels are comfortable, and our season tickets are in the mezz.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 12:23am

This opened tonight. Are there reviews? Does anyone even care?

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 6/28/13 at 2:34am

There’s something that seems innately decent about actor David Morse — best-known to TV viewers for his roles on St. Elsewhere and Treme, and for portraying George Washington in the John Adams mini-series on HBO – which may be why he was so effective as the (somewhat) sympathetic child molester in Paula Vogel’s powerful and nuanced play “How I Learned To Drive.”
Director Scott Ellis employs Morse in an attempt to induce similar dissonance in Steven Levenson’s new play, “The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin,” with less success....
The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin Review: A Poor Man’s Bernie Madoff

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 3:59pm

Has anyone seen this in pre and post opening? Obviously it was dreadful in the beginning but they seemed to have tightened it up. Was wondering if it's worth another shot since it's very easy to get tickets.

[NuMystic]

Posted: 7/18/13 at 6:47pm

"This opened tonight. Are there reviews? Does anyone even care?"

Apparently not?

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/18/13 at 8:51pm

I saw it two nights before opening when it was one act and I assume completed and it was dreadfully boring and painfully long.

There was literally no dramatic tension, minimal humor, uninteresting characters, bland performances all around, and an ugly set.

One of only a handful of shows I've seen recently where I haven't found anything I enjoyed.