Zack (c) Todd Cerveris
Theater: Zack
The Mint Theater at Theatre Row
The Mint Theater has resurrected another play by the British playwright Harold Brighouse, who is best known for Hobson’s Choice, produced over a century ago on Broadway and made into a popular movie in the ‘50s. Last year, they revived Brighouse’s Garside’s Career in a lovely production, and now they are producing Zack, the playwright’s follow-up to Hobson’s Choice. And I have to say, plotwise, it doesn’t have the heft or historical intrigue of the other two plays. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the production, mainly for its title character. Zach (Jordan Matthew Brown), unlike Mr. Hobson and Mr. Garside, neither has choice nor career. He is the younger and more unpredictable brother of the upstanding Paul (David T. Patterson), who runs a wedding planning service for their much put-upon mother, Mrs. Munning (Melissa Maxwell). Times are tough, so when Virginia (Cassia Thompson), a wealthy distant cousin, comes for a visit, Mrs. Munning hopes to make a love match for Paul. She also tries to keep the kind-hearted but bumbling, overweight and heavily bearded Zack, whom she considers an embarrassment, out of all family interactions. But try as they may, it seems Virginia has more in common with Zack than Paul, and when the rest of the family gets wind of their flirtation, plans are afoot to get Zack out of their hair. This includes an odd plot moment when Zack makes a joke about marrying local girl Martha (Grace Guichard) and her over-protective father holds him to that promise. The problem with Zack is that even if it’s a fascinating time capsule, it’s not very funny for a comedy of manners. Zack is relegated to almost a supporting role for much of the play as we witness most of the other not-so-sympathetic characters try to scheme and manipulate each other for their selfish ends. But whenever Zack appears, in the hands of the talented and immensely likeable Brown, he’s always a decent and honest person, even if he sometimes believes everyone’s bad opinions of him. Britt Berke’s evenhanded production may not make Zack a compelling play to revisit, but it’s fascinating to see how a playwright from early in the last century gave voice to a compelling outsider.
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Spare Parts (c) Russ Rowland
Theater: Spare Parts
At Theatre Row
The future has arrived on Theatre Row with David J. Glass’ Spare Parts, a provocative play about how money may not buy you happiness, but it sure can buy you most everything else. Corporate billionaire Zeit Smith (Michael Genet) hears about promising research coming out of Columbia University that sounds like a version of the Fountain of Youth. Through his dedicated executive assistant Ivan (Jonny-James Kajoba), Smith meets Professor Coffey (Rob McClure), who talks in impenetrable, technical jargon that puts the money man off. So he bonds more with Coffey’s graduate assistant, Jeffrey (Matt Walker), who’s able to explain things in everyday speak. Essentially, the researchers have had success transferring a key element in young mice to older mice via a constant blood transfusion. Thanks to the relatability of James, Ivan hires the two with exclusivity (and a nondisclosure agreement) to the project. Then, things, if you can believe it, get even more complicated. While I was enjoying the ride that Glass provided the first half of the play, there is a plot twist that throws everything that happened before it into chaos. I will not reveal the twist (there’s a clue in the title), but it does bring into the story a plot from a well-regarded, modern British novel (and its less successful movie adaptation), which handles the moral implications better than Glass does here. The actors are all good, with the always reliable McClure (the biggest name on the marquee) in a rare nonmusical, but also the smallest role of the four. Smith is more humanistic than say an Elon Musk (but you can say the same thing about a fallen tree branch) and adds much-needed humor to the play. Kajoba and Walker (who was also very good in Glass’ last play, Love + Science) get to hash out many ethical conflicts, especially as the play goes down its darker path, but the characters, who are both gay, also share a tenderness that gives the play its heart. The ending is quite good, in a shocking “oh, they went there!” kind of way, which director Michael Herwitz handles with a sure hand. A lot of thorny issues are brought up in Spare Parts, and while it doesn’t successfully stick the landing, it’s sure to bring up quite the conversation at home. Just turn off your Alexa or Siri beforehand.
Bigfoot! (c) Marc J. Franklin
Theater: Bigfoot!
At City Center Stage I
Amber Ruffin, Kevin Sciretta and David Schmoll’s version of the Sasquatch mythology in their breezy new musical Bigfoot! is less an untamed monster and more a misunderstood outsider. Except for his shaggy hirsutism condition, their Bigfoot (Grey Henson) is just an overgrown kid with a yearning to connect, living alone in the forest surrounding his hometown of Muddirt (after hearing the show’s first song, you will be compelled to always sing the town’s name twice). The show, however, feels more like a comedy improv exercise than a fully realized story. Bigfoot should have a caring mother … bam, we get Francine (Crystal Lucas-Perry), who worries about her son more than her nagging cough. Maybe there’s a corrupt mayor (former SNL player, Alex Moffat) whose idea about building a waterpark in a place called Muddirt (Muddirt) seems like a bad idea. Other characters include a doctor (Jason Tam) caring for both Francine and Bigfoot, the head of the company (Jade Jones) building the new park and a hunter (Katerina McCrimmon) hired to hunt down the mysterious creature destroying the town’s property. All of this is done with goofy charm by the six-member ensemble who (except for Hensen) also gets to play multiple townsfolk. Hensen (mostly known for the Mean Girls musical) is wonderful here and he plays Big as a loveable and gay (duh) goofball, who loves the town so much, even if the feeling isn’t mutual. The versatile Lucas-Perry, who was so heartbreaking in her Tony-nominated performance in Ain’t No Mo’, gets to show off both her comedic skills and booming vocal chops. The rest of the cast, amiably directed by Danny Mefford, have fun with their many characters, including a highlight moment with Jones, where they get to play two characters arguing with each other, differentiated only by a hardworking mustache prop. Even when the loosey goosey narrative beats feel arbitrary, the writers at least keep it funny and light. In the song “Day to Day,” this show’s version of “Somewhere That’s Green,” Bigfoot lovingly dreams about a mundane life where he just chats about the weather and goes to K-Mart to buy breathable underwear. You and me both, big guy.
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