Nina Raine’s Tribes, directed by David Cromer, is an interesting exploration of deafness, its world, its nuances, in a dysfunctional family.
Central is a deaf, lip-reading son (the excellent Russell Harvard) who never learned to sign; his parents (a blustering, overwrought, overbearing Jeff Perry and the sensitive Mare Winningham), his repressed sister who wants to be an opera singer (Gayle Rankin), and his (ultimately) border-line psychotic brother (Will Brill). He meets a girl (the totally engaging Susan Pourfar) who is losing her hearing. This is the most irritating family ever, with phony intellectualism pouring out of the father and the brother in a rapid naturalistic style that interferes with communication. Brill’s mentally ill brother is the noisiest, most annoying character in town, and the sturm und drang from him and the father, is repellant. These are not people I want to spend time with.
And I wonder why some contemporary writers feel that “fucking” should be their major adjective. But when Harvard and Pourfar are alone communicating, it’s a different, quite engaging, play, and we learn a lot about the world of the non-hearing.
The play is beautifully produced, except for some poor lighting choices by designer Keith Parham, who a couple of times has the stage very dimly lit while Harvard is supposed to be reading lips. The set by Scott Pask and projections by Jeff Sugg are fine enhancers of the action. There are hints of some possibly criminal action by the lip-reader, but they are obscure, and I heard two groups of audience members trying to figure it out, and then agreeing he had lied in court about what he lip-read. So it’s a flawed evening, but one with enough meat on its bones, fascinating hand-signing, and a few solid performances, to make me glad I didn’t leave at intermission.
Previews:
February 16, 2012
Opened:
March 4, 2012
Ended:
September 2, 2012
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
New York
Company/Producers:
Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, Patrick Daly, 2Manocherians, Christian Chadd Taylor, Burnt
Umber Productions, Robert E Kass, Marc & Lisa Biales.
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
Barrow Street Theater
Theater Address:
27 Barrow Street
Genre:
Drama
Director:
David Cromer
Review:
Cast:
Set: Scott Pask. Costumes: Tristan Raines. Lighting: Keith Parham. Sound: Daniel Kluger. Projections: Jeff Sugg.
Technical:
Cast: Mare Winningham, Jeff Perry, Russell Harvard, Will Brill, Susan Pourfar, Gayle Rankin.
Critic:
Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2012
