Breaking the metaphorical walls between disconnected people is the theme of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune,, a tender romance between unlikely lovers. It’s one of the prolific McNally’s better known works, premiering Off-Broadway in 1987 at Manhattan Theater Club with Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham as middle-aged co-workers at a diner searching for romance before it’s too late. Abraham was replaced by Kenneth Walsh, and the play transferred to a hit Off-Broadway commercial run. A 1991 film version starred a miscast, glamorous Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer as the blue-collar pair. Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco headlined a 2002 Broadway revival. Now, Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald step outside their usual roles to essay the lonely couple.
The towering Shannon is known for playing tormented sufferers (“Revolutionary Road,” “Nocturnal Animals”) and menacing villains (“The Shape of Water,” “Man of Steel”) while McDonald is mostly celebrated for her musical triumphs in shows such as Carousel, Ragtime, and Shuffle Along, and straight plays with musical elements like Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill and Master Class. This time, Shannon is a nice, genuine guy and, apart from humming a brief snatch of “Almost Like Being in Love,” McDonald does not sing. They are both equally brilliant in these departures from their familiar parts.
McNally’s skillful script deceptively seems to depict only a one-night stand between the title loners in Frankie’s cramped apartment (Riccardo Hernandez’s detailed set, along with Natasha Katz’s poetic lighting, suggests both the characters’ strained economic status and their idealistic yearnings). But the playwright transforms a simple date into a life-and-death struggle as the needy Johnny seeks a lifetime commitment from the reluctant Frankie. In lesser hands, Johnny could have come across as a creepy stalker, but director Arin Arbus and her sensitive actors keep compassion at the forefront. Arbus perfectly balances the play’s comic and dramatic elements, while Shannon juggles Johnny’s intensity and sweetness. Likewise, McDonald blends Frankie’s vulnerability with the steely toughness she has developed to cover up wounds dealt by an abusive ex. Their bittersweet, push-pull dance of acceptance, resistance, pain, ecstasy, and meatloaf sandwiches is heartbreaking, joyous, and irresistible.
