Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Keith Bunin’s THE COAST STARLIGHT barrages playgoers with what-ifs, stitching together an invigorating tapestry of possibilities

• By drediman
• March 16, 2023
• No Comments

Earlier this week, Lincoln Center Theater’s production of The Coast Starlight by Keith Bunin opened Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Set primarily in a single car of commuter train pummeling along the Coast Starlight line – which from end to end traverses the West Coast of the United States from Los Angeles to Seattle – the play tells the story of a group of strangers who each find themselves on the cusp of the next chapter of their lives.

What’s immediately striking about the piece is the manner in which it is laid out – The Coast Starlight plays out in the minds of the passengers, who respectively envision how things would pan out if they engaged with the other people in the train car. Suffice to say, the work is anything but a one-way ticket – it rigorously explores the limitless possibilities that human interaction and communication afford. The result are multitudes of what-if scenarios that barrage playgoers. Together, they stitch a rich and invigorating tapestry of humanity unbound by inhibitions. Although those familiar with the concepts of forking paths (e.g., the film Sliding Doors, the musical If/Then) or multiverses (e.g., the recent Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once, the play Constellations) will find themselves in familiar territory, Mr. Bunin’s play can be confidently added to the list of worthwhile works exploring these speculative topics.

Another wonderful attribute of the play is the way it celebrates and basks in communal, inherently theatrical storytelling, which the capable ensemble cast does well to take advantage of. The LCT production has been elegantly directed by Tyne Rafaeli, whose deceptively simple staging (which makes effective use of a rotating platform) simultaneously evokes both the cosmos and play’s literal setting.

RECOMMENDED

THE COAST STARLIGHT
Off-Broadway, Play
Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
1 hour, 40 minutes (with no intermission)
Through April 16