Catya McMullen is a strange and interesting playwright. In the emotional storm that is Agnes, the men she has written are complex, usually appealing, and at times, difficult to understand. The women are, for the most part, mean spirited and driven by misplaced attachment, lust, and the need to dominate. They yell a lot. And everyone swears none stop; counting the f-bombs is an exercise in futility. Their sexual pronouncements are cold and totally devoid of sensuality. Charlie has an excuse for his detachment; he’s on the autism spectrum. When asked how he gets out of spending time talking with his mother on the phone, he answers with one word, “Asperger’s.” Yet as skillfully played by John Edgar Barker, Charlie is by far the most relatable character on stage. As the play opens, he’s disappeared for two weeks and refuses to tell his overbearing sister June (Laura Ramadei) where he’s been. As it turns out, Charlie has taped people all over the country telling of a significant experience. This is a fascinating concept. As portrayed by member of the cast, these people open up and draw us in. I couldn’t help thinking I’d like to see more of these vignettes and less of characters onstage flaying each other. Briefly, while preparing for hurricane Agnes, roommates in tiny, disheveled apartment prepare to batten down the hatches. June and her girlfriend Elle (Mykal Monroe) call each other “baby” a lot, but squabble over June’s “problem” of buying too many paper towels, and Elle’s professed need to study for the MCAT. Ronan enters. Hiram Delgado does a masterful job of making this loud, boorish jerk sympathetic. He’s hurting, a lot. One of the most affecting moments of the show is Ronan leaving a long, rambling message for the woman who dumped him. He’s pouring out his heart, and the pain is palpable. This almost makes up for his stunning insensitivity in inviting Anna (Claire Siebers) to stay for the duration of the storm. Anna has previously had an affair with June, and was a major object of sexual fantasy for Charlie. A question here: why has Anna, who is praised as being cover girl beautiful and irresistible, done up so unattractively? Her ratty clothing looks like it hasn’t been changed in eons, and her hair, done in random tiny braids and several different colors, could use a shampoo and a hairbrush. It is to Siebers’s credit that she makes her conjugal scene with Charlie tender and pleasing. They are together at last, and it’s even better than Charlie had hoped. This is a tiny theater, with the audience in chairs on both sides of the stage. More intimate, to be sure, but also more uncomfortable at several moments in the show, including the Charlie/Ronan wrestling match. Charlie confides that he isn’t good at social cues, but none of the other characters are, either. It’s easy to pick up on his need for contact with women, the lack of passion between June and Elle, Anna’s need for control, and Ronan’s desperation. All the actors are laudable, the direction is capable, and there’s great promise in the writing; but make no mistake, booze and snacks do not in any way make this the promised “real fun family cruise.” Before the play begins, the audience is tortured with painfully loud and repetitive music. If this is, as I suspect, an attempt to permit the “neurotypical” audience to feel the sensory overload which is experienced by those who have autism, I get it. Unfortunately, it also has the effect of numbing the brain and disrupting normal hearing. Dump it; let the dialogue and the acting allow the play to speak for itself.
