Created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, “Indecent” could not have opened at the Vineyard Theatre at a more auspicious time. In the midst of an increasingly frenzied discussion about what is and what is not decent in contemporary American society and culture, this remarkable and stunning play – based on true events surrounding the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s “The God of Vengeance” – brings into sharp focus the importance of vigilance in the midst of intolerance and indomitability in the face of insidious censorship.

Portraying Sholem Asch, Max Gordon Moore delivers a riveting performance of a playwright who initially inspires his cast and crew as they begin to present “The God of Vengeance” but ultimately abandons them. Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman have created a compelling story about the power of innovation and the equally powerful effect of detachment and disinheriting oneself from the innovative process. The cast portrays the characters in three stages of their lives from the excitement of actors beginning a journey together in 1906 to their disappointments and fears that present themselves as they age and face the danger of the threat of the Nazi regime and beyond.

Mr. Moore and the other members of the stellar ensemble cast are listed as “Actors” in the program, he and all individuals – on or off stage – who take significant risks to maintain personal and professional integrity. Solem Asch’s failure to testify in court in Manhattan is a trope for the epic failure of all who shy from controversy and compromise rectitude for the assumed comfort of safety. Adina Verson and Katrina Lenk are riveting as Rifkele and Manke dance their way through life, death, and beyond death.

Rebecca Taichman directs “Indecent” with a sensitive precision. David Dorfman’s choreography is fluid with stunning lines and fresh contemporary movement. Emily Rebholz’s “dust to dust” costumes are intriguing and perfectly matched to the period. Both Christoper Akerlind’s lighting and Matt Hubbs’ sound are exquisite and create emotion-laden “pictures” that are as stunning as they are life-changing. With the assistance of “Stage Manager” Lemml (played with a self-effacing charm by Richard Topol), Tal Yarden’s projections guide the audience through language shifts, and shifts in time with ease.

Music and performances by Lisa Gutkin and Aaron Halva provide an essential emotional thread to “Indecent’s” important story.

It is difficult to rehearse here the entirety of the plot of “Indecent” driven by characters that share unimaginable conflicts that play out in a variety of settings without posting “spoiler alerts” in every paragraph. “Indecent” is a compelling piece of theatre that raises deep, enduring questions about the future of a society that refuses to accept differences and embrace those deemed to be “different.

“In the Name of God, I take you to be my husband/wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.” – From “The Book of Common Prayer”

In 1958 Martin (played with an appropriate whining weakness by Michael Crane) and Irene (played with a frivolous conflicted spirit by Holley Fain) participated in a wedding – a Jewish wedding presumably. And although there are no vows spoken at a traditional Jewish wedding (those are assumed to be implicit), playwright Nicky Silver chooses to use a phrase from “The Book of Common Prayer” as the title of his new play “This Day Forward” currently running at the Vineyard Theatre. I always encouraged my playwriting students to pay attention to titles, and it is important to pay full attention to this title because it provides a substantial clue to the meaning of this new play.

In both Acts of “This Day Forward,” as in other Nicky Silver plays, the audience experiences a motherlode of misbehaving mothers. In the first act, following Martin and Irene’s wedding, Irene confesses she really does not love Martin. Her real affections are for Emil (played with the countenance of a wounded buck by Joe Tippett) the “grease monkey” at the local filling station but her mother does not approve of Emil – she approves of Martin. Irene has a conflicted understanding of love. She tells Emil, “My mother used to punish me all the time. She locked me in dark rooms and went out for days. She said it was because she loved me.” Also in Act I, mother and son duo Melka (played with perfect comedic timing by June Gable) and Donald (played with an adorable mischievous nature by Andrew Burnap) – hotel maid and bellhop – display further the mishaps of nuclear family bonding. Melka unabashedly proclaims to the distraught bride, “Love is nothing. A word you say to yourself so you feel less frightened at night. In the dark. It is air and sound and nothing at all.”

Act II fast forwards forty-six years to 2004 in Noah’s (Michael Crane) New York City apartment where Noah – son of Martin and Irene – confronts his mother (June Gable in Act II) and sister Shelia (played with wounded commitment by Francesca Faridany) about providing care for Irene who now suffers from dementia. Noah has a rather fragile relationship with his boyfriend Leo (Andrew Burnap) and the arrival of Irene – who seems to fancy Leo – puts the relationship into ruin. One wonders just how “addled” Irene is. Sheila and Noah rehearse Noah’s abused childhood. Their father would hit Noah with a belt. And Noah gets to the underbelly of Mr. Silver’s play with this: “Shared misery doesn’t make people partners. If they showed us anything they showed us that.”

“This Day Forward” is not all about dysfunction resulting from growing up with a monster mother. “This Day Forward” challenges the core of the American value system, the epicenter of the national economy, the center of the political firestorm: the American family. Mom, Dad, and the doting kids nestled all comfortably in their suburban beds. Mr. Silver is not simply making a case for a world without punishing mothers: he is making a case for a world without punishing families.

At the end of the play, Mr. Silver makes it clear that the old family system will not work for Noah and his Mom – his new on the road to Alzheimer’s Mom. There will be no “playing with her hair.” The past is finished and gone. Everything is fresh and new. When Noah says (with kindness” “No” to Irene’s request, his refusal brings her peace and the last image the audience has of this uber-mother is a peaceful smile across her up-to-then tormented face.

Under Mark Brokaw’s steady hand, the acting is uniformly excellent and the actors manage their dual roles with authentic performances. Allen Moyer’s scenic design, Kaye Voyce’s costumes, and David Lander’s lighting are all exquisite. “This Day Forward” comes with its difficulties. The second act is not as strong as the first and the magical realism at the end of the play (after Noah Exits to chase after Sheila) is completely unnecessary and weakens the strength of the play. The dysfunction of the family system will grace the stage forever. This play pushes the argument a bit further by questioning the very future of the system itself.

After presenting a season that included the engaging “This Day Forward” by Nicky Silver and the soaring “Kid Victory” by Greg Pierce and John Kander, the iconic Vineyard Theatre has chosen to present Gina Gionfriddo’s mostly disappointing “Can You Forgive Her.” Billed as a “ferociously funny story of lost souls grappling with emotional and financial dependence, and the costs of the American Dream,” the play fails to successfully grapple with either of these important themes or deal with any of the rich and enduring questions surrounding those themes.

Tanya (Ella Dershowitz) tends bar in a New Jersey beach town and is doing her best to get her perhaps fiancée Graham (Darren Pettie) – who is twice divorced and who has not worked in six months – to transition from not being serious about his future to “having a livelihood.” Graham’s mother has just died leaving him the beach house and all her papers (memoirs, novels, etc.) and he has asked Tanya to marry him. Tanya – not the best decision maker – is reluctant to marry without seeing progress in Graham’s stability and commitment to change.

So, what does she do on this Halloween night? She sends Graham home from the bar with an unknown woman who claims her “date” has threatened to stab her. Well, he never told her that. She “learns” of his motivation from a conversation the date Sateesh (Eshan Bay) has with the “redneck couple” she and Sateesh are sitting with at the bar. Miranda (Amber Tamblyn) has a Master’s Degree, is in serious debt, and depends on David (Frank Wood) to “keep” her and provide income. And she “lets [Sateesh] buy [her] things. Why not? It’s not like he isn’t using me, too, you know? He gets to look cool in front of all the other Indians by showing up with me.”

The bulk of Ms. Gionfriddo’s improbable play centers on conversations between Graham and Miranda – most of them convoluted and improbable and not terribly engaging. Then, of course, Tanya comes home from work early, David eventually shows up (Miranda comes to the shore to “stalk him”) and adds to the improbability index. For example, why would Tanya expect that leaving Graham alone with Miranda would be a good choice? And why would an educated person like Miranda be such a racist loser? Her problems are not about bad accounting and bad choices but overall about exhibiting bad behavior and embracing questionable values.

Perhaps Allen Moyer’s set design and Russell H. Champa’s lighting design are the most interesting parts of “Can You Forgive Her.” The playing area – the interior of the beach house – is intentionally “minimized.” The audience can see the lighting grid above the set and there is a “useless” lighted space below the set. Additionally, the set is framed with illuminated light towers. It is as though what is happening on stage is meant to be far removed from the audience. It is like a mockup of a set for a mockup of a play.

“Can You Forgive Her” seems unfinished, unresolved. There is a bit of a redemptive ending but that is not enough payoff for the relentless banter that precedes it. Tanya’s self-help guru does little to persuade Graham or Miranda to conform to her understanding of having a livelihood. The characters are less than believable and less than interesting. No one really cares whether Sateesh shows up to stab Miranda or not. He does show up. At the end. For about a minute.

There’s a lot to forgive here and it might start with the playwright. There is not much director Peter DuBois and the talented cast can do to fix what ails “Can You Forgive Her.”

Harry Clarke (the persona and the person) was born out of the dysfunctional matrix of paternal abuse and maternal collusion that plagued Philip Brugglestein from his childhood through his adulthood. David Cale’s play “Harry Clarke,” currently playing at the Vineyard Theatre, is a complex and engaging psychological study of dissociative identity disorder (DID) and explores the provenance of that condition from the point of view of a man (Billy Crudup) who fled one identity and was pursued by a second that alternately brought him both pleasure and pain.

Mr. Cale’s script is carefully developed: it has a well-defined dramatic arc and it features interesting and well-developed characters with engaging and believable conflicts that drive a plot rich in twists and turns that holds the audience’s interest for the entire eighty minutes when performed. Under Leigh Silverman’s astute and unobtrusive direction, Billy Crudup engages in a dramatic battle with the script and comes up the clear victor, unearthing Mr. Cale’s treasures and bringing Harry Clarke to life with inexorable energy and irrepressible wit. Alexander Dodge’s sparse set and Alan C. Edwards’s judicious lighting contribute to the success of the performance.

Billy Crudup plays twelve characters (or more) in addition to Philip Brugglestein and his cockney Doppelganger Harry Clarke, including his abusive parents and the police officer who awakened Philip to tell him of his father’s death. After Philip’s father’s death, he moves to New York City where he and Harry impose themselves upon Mark Schmidt. Mr. Crudup portrays – rather creates – Mark, Mark’s father and his Mother Ruth, Mark’s sister Stephanie, Luke (whom he meets in a bar) from Camden, and attorneys Brad Gould and Ryan.

Mr. Crudup gives each of these dynamic characters unique personalities, facial gestures, and body movements. He accomplishes this remarkable, near impossible, task with the ease of turning a page in a script and the skill of one of the stage’s most accomplished actors. One can see Crudup’s characters not only in the traditional ways outlined earlier; one can also see the actor imagining these characters “in his head.” He even sings Stephanie’s song “Wide Back Boy” with seductive charm.

Philip and Harry (one needs to mention both personas) make it to England. How and why are the resolution of the play and it would require a spoiler’s alert to provide more details. The journey from Indiana to England provides ample opportunity for Harry to regain control over Philip and place him in challenging – albeit fascinating – situations. Each requires Philip to grapple with his personality, his superego, and his tolerance of taking risks that might result in Philip losing complete control to Harry.

David Cale’s expansive character study of the young Philip Brugglestein from South Bend, Indiana and his “alter ego” Harry Clarke raises the rich and enduring question, “Are there limits to what one does to escape verbal, psychological, and – perhaps – sexual abuse to preserve one’s life?” Additionally, is one always in control of the circumstances surrounding the techniques of survival? Finally, “Harry Clarke” successfully questions all assumptions about individual identity, ego strength, and personality that leave the audience members wondering just how much they know about themselves and their choices.

Whether medieval or modern, no plague is comfortable. The first part of “The Amateurs,” currently playing at Vineyard Theatre, is uncomfortable in a different way and the audience wonders, “Can this play be as amateurish as it appears. What is the Vineyard thinking?” As it turns out, the iconic Off-Broadway theatre is thinking outside-the-box and out with the fourth wall, inviting the audience into a rigorous session of metacognition: how do theatre professionals think they make theatre successfully? Should actors be thinking about how they do what they do when they are doing it? And playwright Jordan Harrison uses the story of a medieval itinerant troupe of actors attempting to outrun the “Black Death” ravaging fourteenth-century Europe to address these essential questions.

Larking (Thomas Jay Ryan) does his best to interest his intrepid troupe to improve their craft as they rehearse their play “Noah’s Flood” for presentation before the Duke in two weeks’ time. Larking is hoping that an audience before the Duke of Travo and a successful performance by the troupe will convince the Duke to allow the actors to live within the Duke’s village and avoid death by plague. Mr. Harrison also alludes to the HIV/AIDS plague and the quest for safe spaces and cures.

In the midst of the slow-moving narrative in Act One, secrets are revealed about Rona’s (Jennifer Kim) pregnancy, assumptions are made about the possible father of the child, members of the cast die from the plague, sexual identities are revealed, and a stranger (The Psysic played by Greg Keller) enters the encampment concealing his own agenda in the quest for safety. Some of these secrets are revealed in two well-staged intercessory prayer scenes. Rona prays to St. Felicitas to make her a virgin again, or if that is “asking too much,” at least to “make him a boy.” Brom (Kyle Beltran) begs St. Theresa to help him forget Henry whom he assumes God took back to “wash him clean” of him. And Larking prays to both Saints Dominic and Cosmas to help his troupe “to act well.”

In Act Two, Jordan Harrison decides to break the fourth wall. The actor who portrays Gregory (Michael Cyril Creighton) takes center stage and launches on an extended monologue about the provenance of his fear of being gay, his fear of AIDS, the historical development of “individualism,” and assorted other topics. He ends his exposition with, “This is all to say that I didn’t sit down to write a play about Mr. Goldsworthy, or the Bubonic plague, even. No, for some reason I was interested in a small strange scene from the 14th century morality play “Noah’s Flood.”

Dissecting the scene between Noah (Brom/Kyle Beltran) and his “unnamed” wife (Hollis/Quincy Tyler Bernstine), “the director” links namelessness with powerlessness – a sort of plague of humankind. This discussion is valuable and raises the questions outlined in the first paragraph of this review; however, the need for the lengthy first act becomes questionable as does the playwright’s choice to use this vehicle to make his important arguments.

Under Oliver Butler’s direction, the actors wrestle with the plays disparate themes (perhaps too many unresolved conflicts?) with honesty. Happy Endings, guilt, fear, catharsis – all get bandied about at the play’s end with more questions raised than answers given. Whether catharsis is “innately complacent” (Playwright) or “delicious” will be up to the audience to decide. We are all, after all, amateurs at this humanity gig.

A novella by Henry James is the inspiration for the new Dance Play “The Beast in the Jungle” which marks the final mainstage production of the Vineyard Theater’s 35^th Anniversary Season. The book by David Thompson follows the escapades of John Marcher (a credible Peter Friedman) over several decades, as he battles demons and searches for the single entity that seems to elude him. The structure is that of a memory play, with the main character acting as narrator as he reveals the story of his past to his young nephew, (an outstanding Tony Yazbeck), hoping that he will heed the advice and not be intimidated by the jeopardy of love. It is a profound tale of love and passion that seems to necessitate more than spoken words to communicate the emotional content and embellish the beauty of desire, intimacy and endearment.

So, director and choreographer Susan Stroman uses the language of dance as a liaison between discourse and sentiment to reach the complex core of the characters. Joy, pain, fear, excitement, tension and angst explode in the movement, fulfilling the moment that conveys a stimulating impulse of each persona. It is so personal yet so revealing, so fluid yet so powerful and manages to provide pages of beautiful illustrations to accompany the narrative.

Mr. Yazbeck is engaging as the inquisitive and melancholy nephew but hits his stride as the evocative young John Marcher, ever so determined to escape the beast of his tortured soul. As he dances, his body intrudes the common space to sculpt images that perfectly delineate a psyche which is always compatible with his mien. Sometimes floating and at others burdened, but always on point, punctuating musical notes as if they were suspended in the air. The object of his affection is May Bertram, portrayed with distinct elegance and intrigue by the beautiful Irina Dvorovenko. Her lyrical dancing captures the essence of her character and evolves somewhere between a dream and reality. She is innocent, intelligent and insightful as she captures the heart of her paramour. Their chemistry is magical. Mr. Friedman is given a difficult task of revealing his story solely with words of David Thompson’s book, in juxtaposition to the interpretation through dance which contributes to a more linear and sequential performance. At times his anger diminishes his empathy.

Rounding out the cast are Teagle F. Bougere who turns in a solid performance as the Husband/Stranger and the Women, an ensemble of dancers who support the principals and add substance and clarity to each scene. Rather than assuming the role of a Greek Chorus, they appear as Muses and create a force on inspiration. Maira Barriga, Elizabeth Dugas, Leah Hofmann, Naomi Kakuk, Brittany Marcin Maschmeyer, and Erin N. Moore execute Ms. Stroman’s choreography to perfection.

This is a production that pushes boundaries of traditional musical theater relying on the melodic score by John Kander, sometimes reminiscent of his earlier work and always pleasing to the ear but void of lyrics. It serves as an underscore tempering the mood of each scene. It is not a perfect endeavor into a new genre and comes with a few misgivings that could be revised but certainly delivers a creative, entertaining evening of theater.

Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern announce casting for Vineyard Theatre’s Developmental Lab production of Tori Sampson’s THIS LAND WAS MADE, directed by Whitney White. Vineyard’s Developmental Labs allow a playwright and director to explore a work-in-progress on its feet in collaboration with a full creative team, and include staging and design elements. Presentations are Thursday, July 26 – Saturday, July 28 at Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th Street).

Patrons who become a Vineyard Member by July 25 receive priority seating; limited seating for the general public will be available on a first-come, first-served basis by calling 212-353-0303, emailing boxoffice@vineyardtheatre.org, or at www.vineyardtheatre.org.

The cast of THIS LAND WAS MADE includes James T. Alfred (“Empire”), Lauren E. Banks (WAR), McKinley Belcher III (“Mercy Street”), Jessica Frances Dukes (IS GOD IS), Sean Patrick Higgins (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE), Julian Elijah Martinez (ALLIGATOR), Jon Orsini (FISH IN THE DARK), Carra Patterson (JITNEY), Namir Smallwood (PASS OVER), and Austin Smith (HAMILTON).

Liberation. Peace. Love. Self-Defense. Oakland in 1967 was a powder keg of social activism ready to boil over into radical action. For patrons of Miss Trish’s bar, it’s all just talking points — until the full, seductive and explosive force of revolution walks through the door. Tori is a 2017-18 Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow in Minneapolis and the Kennedy Center’s 2016 Paula Vogel Playwright. A recent graduate of the Yale School of Drama, THIS LAND WAS MADE marks her New York debut.

Performance schedule: Thursday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m.; Friday, July 27 at 4:00 p.m.; Saturday, July 28 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.. A panel discussion on social justice activism with special guest Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, will take place following the matinee performance on Saturday, July 28.

TORI SAMPSON (Playwright)  A native of Boston, Tori’s plays include IF PRETTY HURTS UGLY MUST BE A MUHFUCKA (Playwrights Horizons, 2019) and CADILLAC CREW (Yale Repertory Theater, 2019). Her plays have been developed at Great Plains Theatre Conference, Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s The Ground Floor residency program, Victory Garden’s IGNITION Festival of New Plays, Playwrights Foundation, and Ubuntu Festival. Tori is a 2017–18 Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow and a 2018-19 Mcknight Fellow. Two of her plays appeared on the 2017 Kilroys List. Her awards and honors include the 2016 Relentless Award, Honorable Mention; the 2016 Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting from The Kennedy Center; the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, Second Place; the Alliance Theatre’s 2017 Kendeda Prize, Finalist; the 2018 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Finalist. Tori is currently working on commissions from Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, and Atlantic Theater Company. She holds a BS in sociology from Ball State University and an MFA in playwriting from Yale School of Drama.

WHITNEY WHITE (Director) is a director, musician, and actor. Recent work: OTHELLO (Trinity Rep), BLOOD WEDDING (Atlantic Theatre Co/NYU), FREEDOM RIDERS (NYMF), MACBETH IN STRIDE (Miami Theater Center). As Associate Director: MARVIN’S ROOM (Broadway), IF I FORGET (Roundabout). Upcoming: RITA TAMBIEN RITA (Julliard), Aleshea Harris’ WHAT TO SEND UP (The Movement), THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (Atlantic Theatre, Associate Director). Whitney was the inaugural Roundabout Directing Fellow and is currently a 2050 Fellow at the New York Theatre Workshop. This year she will be in residency at Ars Nova as part of their 2018 Makers Lab, and at The Drama League as part of their Next Wave Residency where she is developing an African American production of Anton Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS set to original music. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep, BA: Northwestern University. www.whitney-white.com

HAWK NEWSOME has engaged in protests and activities to combat injustice. Over the past few years, he has worked tirelessly leading protests and seeking justice for the families of those slain by overzealous police officers. He is the founder of Black Lives Matter Greater NY, and has not only helped victims of police brutality, but works with members of LGBT community, victims of human trafficking, the mental health community, founded Black Lives Caucus, lectured students and expanded BLM Greater NY to multiple New York City charter schools.

AVENUE Q – winner of three 2004 Tony Awards including Best Musical – is extending its previously announced closing date 4 weeks, due to popular demand, with a new end date set for May 26 at New World Stages (340 W. 50 St.), it has been announced by the show’s producers.  In December it was revealed that the 15+ year run of the musical would end on April 28.

Produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre and The New Group, AVENUE Q will have played a total of 6569 performances upon closing:  from its first Broadway preview on July 14, 2003 to its final performance at New World Stages (340 W. 50 St.) on May 26.

Mr. McCollum and Ms. Goodman note, “The little show-that-could is still full of surprises.  When audiences clamor for more, we listen!”

Powered by its Tony for Best Musical and additional Tonys for Best Music and Lyrics to Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and Best Book of a Musical to Jeff Whitty, AVENUE Q’s victory at the 2004 Tony Awards was considered an historic upset and effectively redrew the landscape for innovation, originality and success on Broadway.  The musical recouped its investment in just 10 months, and with its fresh and funny tale about people and puppets just out of college looking for their purpose in life, AVENUE Q has been groundbreaking in its appeal to young theatergoers who relate to the characters and the challenges they face learning adult life lessons about racism, coming out, unemployment, dating, sex and porn.  The show has indeed captivated audiences of all generations with it singular, hilarious take on the traditional story of boy-meets-girl, boy-loses girl, boy tries to win girl back – except in AVENUE Q, the boy and girl just happen to be puppets.

The producers state, “We are incredibly proud of the fact that AVENUE Q transformed the careers of so many people in our company throughout its run.  The show gave audiences the opportunity to laugh, escape from the outside world for two hours and have tons of fun.  AVENUE Q proved to be timeless and we learned that sometimes it takes a puppet to make us realize how remarkable, complicated and messy it is to be human.”

AVENUE Q has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, and is directed by Jason Moore. Based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, choreography by Ken Roberson, scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, and sound design by Acme Sound Partners. Music director is Brian Hertz. Animation design is by Robert Lopez, incidental music is by Gary Adler, and casting is by Cindy Tolan & Adam Caldwell. Christine M. Daly is Production Stage Manager.

After its 6+ year run on Broadway, on the occasion of the musical’s closing night in September 2009, AVENUE Q’s producers made the surprise announcement that the show was, in fact, not closing, but would open again three weeks later at New World Stages, where it has been playing for more than 9 years.

The current cast of AVENUE Q includes Katie Boren, Grace Choi, Matt Dengler, Jamie Glickman, Imari Hardon, Jason Jacoby, Nicholas Kohn, Veronica Kuehn, Lacretta, Michael Liscio, Jr., and Rob Morrison.

AVENUE Q’s unforgettable cast of characters include Princeton, Kate Monster, Rod, Lucy The Slut, Trekkie Monster, Gary Coleman, The Bad Idea Bears, Mrs. Thistletwat, Christmas Eve and Brian.

As Stacey Derosier’s lighting comes up on the stage of Charly Evon Simpson’s “sandblasted,” which is currently being co-presented by Vineyard Theatre and Women’s Project Theater at the Vineyard, Angela (a willful yet vulnerable Brittany Bellizeare) and Odessa (a confident and temperamental Marinda Anderson) slowly emerge from behind beach umbrellas (“where the sand is”). Both complain about the omnipresence of sand on and in their bodies and Odessa’s arm falls off, suddenly but not unexpectedly. They have embarked on an extended journey with Adah (a seemingly omniscient, yet oddly evasive Rolanda Watts) to hopefully learn how to stop falling apart.

Angela, Odessa, and all Black women are experiencing the same catastrophic loss experienced by Odessa. Angela describes this condition to her brother Jamal (Andy Lucien), “it starts off with ears and noses and then toes and fingers and then its entire fucking arms and legs and breasts and tongues and lips and butts and then there is nothing else to fall off so we start falling apart on the inside.” “sandblasted” follows Angela and Odessa’s Adah-driven quest for healing in body, mind, and spirit.

Charly Evon Simpson’s inspiration for her narrative is clearly rooted in absurdism, particularly in two works of Samuel Beckett: “Waiting for Godot” (1952) and “Happy Days” (1961). In the latter of the two, protagonist Winnie – buried up to her neck – wonders what her predicament “means? What’s it meant to mean?” Although Winnie discovers no answer to her queries, playwright Simpson attempts to provide some redemption and release for her characters who grapple with similar existential questions.

“Beckett’s distorted and dismembered bodies have become part of the global cultural imaginary of the 21st century.” (Anna McMullan, “Performing Embodiment in Samuel Beckett’s Drama” (London: Routledge, 2010), p. 1.) “In Beckett’s later plays, the distortion of the body goes from physical to metaphorical: heads float, mouths utter words in darkness, voices echo through the texts incorporeally.” (William McEvoy, “Introduction to ‘Happy Days’ (British Library, “Discovering Literature 20^th Century, September 7, 2017).

The twenty-first century, like many prior centuries, has been a difficult space for women, particularly for Black women and other women of color – from disparities in income, housing, employment, and overall opportunity to the discrimination against and murder of Black Trans women. Ms. Simpson does not provide a precise litany of those things falling apart internally and externally; however, as in Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf,” the themes of identity, alienation and loneliness, race, and racism are evident.

Under Summer L. Williams’s meticulous direction, the cast portrays the characters and their conflicts with precision, honesty, and authenticity. If there is any problem with “sandblasted” it is the script itself. From the opening scene, it is obvious that the play’s action is episodic and not linear. The difficulty is that many of the scenes seem repetitive or overly written.  A few scenes even seem unnecessary.

The transition to the final scene where Angels and Odessa reunite with Adah seems contrived and the scene itself seems unnecessary. There are several places where “sandblasted” could have ended and still have been effective. Even Angela and Odessa’s important “lessons” could have been shared earlier in the play. Odessa: “I don’t want to feel like I am waiting but I also know there is waiting to do to see if there is a way to heal to see how we survive to see to learn to understand what it is to be in my body now today.” Angela: “Yeah and if while we do all of that if we can sit here there and say I’m going to be anyway I’m going to live anyway I’m going to survive and thrive and breathe anyway then waiting can just be us, living.”

How they/we will wait, can wait, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, “being” and “living” seem like admirable and, hopefully, attainable alternatives to falling apart.

There are two paths to “disappearance” in David Cale’s engaging “Sandra” currently running at the Vineyard Theatre. The audience discovers that Ethan Martin’s path has been well thought out. Sandra Jones’ (Marjan Neshat) path on the other hand is completely reactive, random, and riddled with danger. Two paths diverge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the choices made by both on those paths have made “all the difference.”

David Cale’s narrative begins in the present with Sandra addressing the audience “in a confiding manner, as if she’s speaking to friends.” She recounts having dinner the prior evening with her gay friend Ethan before his departure to Mexico. Sandra’s problem is that Ethan never got on the plane in Puerto Vallarta that was to bring him home and she intends to find her missing closest friend. That conflict drives the pleasingly convoluted plot that explores the deepest meanings of “disappearing from one’s life.”

As Ethan hugs Sandra goodbye, he shares, “I feel like disappearing from my life. Part of me just isn’t in the world. I’m at a remove.” Sandra replies, “Even from me?” Ethan’s answer is a foreshadowing and becomes the strong fiber that holds the storytelling together: “No, not you”, he said, “But you and I are so simpatico, if I vanish, you’d probably disappear from your life too. I love you, Sandra. I love you so much.”

The balance of the intriguing eighty-minute story ricochets between New York and Mexico as Sandra goes full in to find Ethan. David Cale knows how to tell a story and Marjan Neshat excels in delivering Sandra’s story with passion and urgency. Storytelling is theatre and theatre is storytelling. The focus is on the well-crafted tale and the troubadour delivering the narrative. “Sandra” needs no turntables, ramped up amps, technical wizardry, or multilayered sets to mesmerize its audience. That said, Rachel Hauck’s unobtrusive scenic design, Linda Cho’s one costume design, Thom Weaver’s gossamer lighting, and Kathy Ruvuna’s sound design counterpoint David Cale’s romance with perfection and collectively prove that in making successful theatre less is often preferable to more, and more satisfying.

It is impossible to say more about “Sandra” without a multitude of spoiler alerts. What can be said is that the audience will discover at the last moment that Ethan did vanish, and Sandra did disappear from her life as well. Also permissible to report is that: Sandra is estranged from her husband Richard; two detectives and an FBI Special Agent help Sandra in her quest; Sandra meets Maggie and Peter Raymond friends from her Crown Heights café; she meets Beauford in Puerto Vallarta who has “vaguely Southern accent;” Sandra finds a mysterious message in a bottle in Ethan’s handwriting; and she meets a longhaired man who was with Beauford who holds the key to understanding who Luca Messina might be.

Marjan Neshat portrays all the characters in “Sandra” with believability. The actor skillfully gives each character a distinct personality including the protagonist who receives a new name. How Sandra Jones becomes Sandra Rivers and how she ends up in coastal California is a story worth hearing. One spoiler alert: listeners are distant enough from the narrative not to get totally lost but close enough to be tempted with disappearance.