By Alix Cohen
Every play does not have to be life changing. A One-Act with limited production budget can offer as much value as theater with publicity and stars. Lost and Found is a small, touching story, the serendipitous meeting of a young man and woman who gradually recognize similar emotional wounds. It’s a familiar concept without cliché execution- well written, directed, and acted.
For some bizarre reason playwright Angelica Gorga has called the man Lost, the woman Found, and a neighbor, Neighbor. (They don’t address each other this way.)The piece couldn’t be further from theater of the absurd where such a trope might belong. Additionally, in the course of narrative, both characters are lost, then found. They warrant proper names.
August 2003. Lost (Ivàn Marcel) works part time in a modest Brooklyn Laundromat owned by parents of a friend. He’s in grad school. Placing a sign on the door that says they’re closing at 3:00 that day -he’s expected at a party- Lost prepares to leave.
Found (playwright Angelica Gorga) barrels in, throws her clothes in a washer, and, ignoring Lost’s admonition, puts quarters in the machine. She either hasn’t seen or ignored the sign. He compromises, telling her she has to take wet clothes home to dry when the cycle is finished.
Lost folds clothes. Found has a fit (diabetic?) or panic attack, we’re not sure which. He’s concerned. There’s a city wide blackout. (the Northeast Blackout of 2003, one of the largest in U.S. history)
Slowly the two reveal themselves to one another. She edgily instigates conversation, even games. They push each other’s buttons. He retrieves beer from next door, but can’t close up under the circumstances.
An upstairs neighbor /Neighbor (Nelly Saviñon) who’s friendly with Lost comes in and out of the laundromat, bringing what appears to be a homemade Spanish drink akin to eggnog. She clearly knows his state of mind and encourages him to open up to the girl. The play could’ve been successfully written as a two-hander, but the third point of view doesn’t hurt it.
All the actors are kitchen sink real, understated, specific and good listeners.
Ivàn Marcel’s characterization seems pleasant and grounded- a case of still waters run deep. The actor adroitly plays turmoil as undercurrent. Defenses are reluctantly, almost visibly broken down.
Angelica Gorga’s Found is prickly and talky with distinctly different temperament than her circumstantial companion. She’s annoying, but skilled glimpses of vulnerability make us sympathetic.
As Neighbor, Nelly Saviñon is both saucy and nurturing, a born mother. She discreetly watches over Lost. Saviñon manifests credible perception and exudes warmth.
Director Christine Cirker has concocted imaginative, believable stage business. Pacing is terrific. It actually feels as if we’re there some hours in a single evening. I have one rather large caveat, however: After the blackout, there’s ostensibly no electricity. Lesser stage light illuminates. The couple are supposed to be in the dark yet behave as if they are not. A flashlight is briefly utilized, but no candles or anything else that might enable sight. This makes no sense.
The Set (Pauline Walsh) is evocative and well propped, though its walls look like cut-and-paste. Costumes and Properties Design (E.B. McKinney) work well to define time, place, and economic level.
Like much French film, it’s easy to assume life before and after we meet these characters. A gentle, worthy piece of theater.
Michael Kushner Photography
These photos don’t reflect the better costuming I saw
Lost and Found by Angelica Gorga
Directed by Christine Cirker
AMT Theater 354 West 445th Street https://www.amttheater.org/
