THE HANGOVER REPORT – Hansol Jung channels all but the kitchen sink in MERRY ME, a raucous wartime sex comedy for the 21st century

Nicole Villamil, Shaunette Renée Wilson, and Ryan Spahn in New York Theatre Workshop’s production of “Merry Me” by Hansol Junng (photo by Joan Marcus).

Last night, Hansol Jung’s Merry Me opened Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. Jung has been enjoying well deserved success as of late, with her breakout play Wolf Play and its follow-up — a loose adaptation of Romeo and Juliet — having been recently staged here in New York in relatively high profile productions. Set in a vaguely mythical world, the playwright’s latest — at once a wartime play and a sex comedy — channels all but the kitchen sink to inform its world creation.

This maximalist approach scans with the extravagant theatricality that marked both Wolf Play and their Romeo and Juliet — for better (the former) or worse (the latter). Indeed, in her new play, Jung draws inspiration from wildly disparate sources, including — but not restricted to — Greek mythology, Restoration comedy, Shakespeare, and absurdist theater. She also hilariously makes pointed direct references to Tony Kushner’s landmark epic Angels in America. Throw into the mix an up-to-the-moment queer ideology/agenda and you get something that approximates Merry Me. At once cheeky and frisky, the comedy is a raucously fun time, even if its relentless eagerness to land laughs ultimately becomes a tad exhausting. Most importantly, the work preoccupies itself with creating its own constructs, making a case for striking out to establish queer mythologies for the 21st century.

Director Leigh Silverman’s exuberant staging largely operates at the same giddy level, as does her spirited, game cast. A few of them have even appeared in Jung’s Wolf Play — namely the combustible pairing of Esco Joulé and Nicole Villamil, who (then as in here) play defiantly unconventional lovers. Rounding out the refreshingly diverse company are Miranda Anderson, Cindy Cheung, David Ryan Smith, Ryan Spahn, and last but not least Shaunette Renée Wilson (a particular standout) — all of whom thoroughly embrace the over-the-top tone that the playwright insists upon.

RECOMMENDED

MERRY ME
Off-Broadway, Play
New York Theatre Workshop
1 hour, 30 minutes
Through November 19

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

Leave a Reply