THIS. IS. A. MUST. SEE.
I’m simply gutted. As a psychiatric-mental health nurse, I’ve seen this scenario play out more times than I care to. (SPOILERS AHEAD - No box since I’m on my phone)
This show is probably the BEST portrayal of Alzheimer’s and mental decline without veering into parody or caricature. Elaine May is simply doing fantastic work and is already a strong contender for the Tony. Even when she isn’t on the stage, her actions are palpable and can be felt at a deep level.
The supporting cast also does magnificent work, because you can see the different degrees of grief when they are with dealing with Glady’s illness. They run the entire spectrum of numbness, objectivity/reasoning, and anger, with each of them eventually coming around to acceptance. Lucas Hedges’ character reminded me a lot of me and how I approached this situation at work and with my own family, so I was a little haunted to see it play out on stage in front of me. But, boy, does he have a hopefully long stage career ahead of him. Joan Allen reminded me a lot of my mother, who worked her butt off to keep everyone at home together and happy while dealing with the effects that the decline had on everyone, including herself. David Cromer had some of the funniest lines, with his strength being more in the first act.
Unlike some here, I didn’t mind Michael Cera’s character at all. Yes, he did have that typical awkward schtick he’s known for, but to understand his character is to remember that he’s walking into this family catastrophe already in progress. He’s working hard to stay out of it, even though he is roped in by proxy of May’s character. And what makes him so unlikeable in the second act is that he finally takes the opportunity to break away when the rest of the family can’t, and he can be seen as callous for that. I was juggling the fact that he continually mentions his sister with a disability, and he thinks he is able to relate on that level, but ultimately can’t when he stays in denial about her mental decline.
SPOILER: When Allen’s character has her breakdown, and Hedges rushes in and says “I love you, Mom” - that is a moment that grounds them both from the chaos around them and I was in complete tears. The ending monologue brought me back around.
The transitions didn’t bother me, except for the fact that people in the Orchestra were TAKING OUT THEIR PHONES DURING THEM. (I could see them all from my side perch in the mezzanine - one guy actually squeezed in a few moves on Candy Crush, no joke.) What I love the most was how the set seemed to get smaller as May’s character declined further, in a way representing that the world around her mind was closing in.
Okay, and now the long awaited Stagedoor Report:
From the words of the stage door guy, “they are really a group of signers”. May came out, waved, and blew kisses before going into her car. Cera did not come out at all (and don’t expect him to). Joan Allen was the first out and surprised to see so many waiting. She did sign a few down the front line. David Cromer came out unnoticed at first, but then came back and signed a few after a few minutes (He said he was looking for his friend and forgot to stop off). Kenneth Lonergan himself was there and signed for a few people that stopped him. Finally, Lucas Hedges came out after about 40 minutes (per security, he was talking to someone in the alley, and usually just goes straight to his car), but if you politely stop him, he happily obliges to sign, along with the occasional selfie. I should note that the crowd had thinned out considerably by this point, so maybe that played a factor. There were also people waiting for THE FERRYMAN in the mix too.
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