Review by Ron Fassler . . .
There’s a relatively new theatre space off-Broadway (well, maybe off-off-Broadway, but who defines these things anyway?) and it goes by the moniker East Village Basement, an apt description. It’s a basement apartment on E. 9th Street where, which began as a theatre for immersive productions last year housing the intimate play Ken Urban’s Danger and Opportunity. It received a special Drama Desk Award for the team behind it—playwright Ken Urban, director Jack Serio, and its three-person cast, Juan Castano, Julia Chan, and Ryan Spahn. With Trey Everett’s The Obit, which closed a two-week engagement last Saturday night, this theatre space is a treat; even more so when presenting such a well-written, thoroughly engaging piece. And with a top-notch quartet of actors, it is a shame that due to its limited seating that more people couldn’t see it. That said, if it manages to move to a larger space at some point, one of the allures of utilizing the East Village Basement is that it gives audiences the chance to be as close as humanly possible to the actors and experience what it’s like to be in the room with them (because we are).
Everett, a playwright and musician, is a prolific artist whose work is new to me. On the basis of only seeing The Obit, it’s obvious he has a strong hand at structure and dialogue and seems to have his finger on the pulse on matters of interest in the year 2026. Though looking at his list of plays and musicals, he tends to cover a lot of ground with ones that are set in 1936, 1945, and 1986.
The plot Everett, has conceived for The Obit—one which takes place in the present—is all-too familiar. However, he explores its family dynamics in a smart fashion. Charlie (Carson Higgins) is in his late thirties with a wife Kay (Kerstin Anderson), pregnant with their first child. Living in New York City, he has mostly ignored his father Jerry (Loren Lester), a reclusive former teacher who has fallen on rough times. That duty has become the responsibility of his half-sister Jules (Jerusha Cavazos), whose late appearance in the drama is gives the play a jolt that lifts it to a higher level of intensity. When Charlie first enters Jerry’s apartment, we aren’t too surprised to discover that his father is living in squalor (the audience must walk over old newspapers and empty cans and bottles to get to their seats). What’s genuinely surprising is that Jerry doesn’t recognize his son and threatens to slash him with a katana (a Japanese samurai sword that, every time Loren Lester uses the word, gets a laugh). Thus begins a series of visits in which Charlie poses as what Jerry assumes he is: the super’s assistant that he’s previously never met. As they say, complications ensue, and the ins and outs of Jerry’s health become the core of how a brother and half-sister may start the healing process, though the play doesn’t go for comfortable huggy moments, which is admirable.
As for how the play comes to be titled The Obit is due to Jerry’s obsession with reading them, mostly in the New York Times, which is why he can’t throw out his old newspapers. As a fellow habituate obit reader, I can relate to gobbling stories the famous and not-so-famous that examine a life in full. How families craft them to put their loved ones in the best light and what legacy really means. It becomes a metaphor for ways in which we chose to live our lives in pursuit of being remembered or, at least, achieving something of importance, even for the smallest endeavor—like being a good parent.
Under the direction of Andrew Barth Feldman, himself a wonderful actor, the cast is flawless. Carson Higgins offers layers of complexity to Charlie, turning him into an imperfect protagonist to get behind. As his antagonist, Loren Lester is superb as Jerry, a man slowly losing his grip on reality. Lester manages to blend both the drama and comedy seamlessly and finds, even moments of silence, ways to complete our awareness of the character’s intractable dilemma. Also quite good is Kerstin Anderson as Kay, a woman who is about to give life, fully aware that unless her husband finds peace in his relationship to his own dad that he will undoubtedly struggle as a new father. And Jerusha Cavazos slays as Jules, a young woman with a lot to prove and who is tired of doing so. Her ability to balance pure exhaustion and churning emotions are the stuff that make a fine actress. From her resume, it appears she’s also a seasoned musical theatre vet, so here’s hoping she lands in a musical sometime soon.
It’s a shame that The Obit was only around for two weeks, though perhaps a transfer is in order? In any event, Trey Everett is a playwright to keep an eye out for, so set your radar accordingly.
The Obit played the East Village Basement, 321 E. 9th Street, NYC May 4-20.
Photos by Qinyi Hua.
Headline photo: Carson Higgins, Kerstin Anderson, and Loren Lester.
