Posted: 10/18/15 at 9:50pm
I saw the Sunday evening performance (2 hrs with intermission). I have to say that I rather enjoyed it. It's a very well thought-out, structured play. It lacks any real plot or forward momentum, however. It felt like a lot of ideas talking to each other. But I was still pretty involved and interested. The story deals with a soldier coming home, but not the home he left: His mother's eccentric, his sibling is trans, his father is invalid. The show deals with power struggles, never ending cycles, etc. I really enjoyed how Mac dealt with the trans issue. He both congratulated it and dissed it in saying "don't think you get special treatment because you're in transition."
The performances were all around pretty great. Nielsan being the strongest. I wouldn't call it a tour-de-force as I don't think it's that SHOWY of a piece, but she's captivating and I think one she settle's into the show and the script she'll kill it. The weakest was the trans-sibling Max. I would have liked to have seen more subtle layers.
The set and direction were great if nothing amazing.
But def. recommend it.
