Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Failed relationships that just won’t loosen their grip: Lisa Vaynberg’s THE GETT and Harrison David Rivers’ THE BANDAGED PLACE

• By drediman
• December 6, 2022
• No Comments

This past week, I attended a pair of flawed but nonetheless fascinating Off-Broadway plays that featured failed relationships that just won’t loosen their grip, keeping the plays’ protagonists from moving on with their lives. Here are my thoughts on these two new works.

THE GETT
Rattlestick Theater (in partnership with Congregation Beth Elohim)
Through December 11

First up at the Rattlestick Theater is Liba Vaynberg’s The Gett (RECOMMENDED), which is being presented in partnership with Congregation Beth Elohim. Told in seven scenes – echoing the Torah’s seven days of creation – the play tells the story of Ida (played with frustrating indecision, appropriately, by Ms. Vaynberg herself), a woman who can’t escape the spectral clutches of her ex-husband (the sultry if disinterested Ben Edelman, whose character haunts Ida over the course of the play). Dispersed in between the play’s scenes are amusing voicemail messages left by her mom (played by the comically gifted Jennifer Westfeldt) that lighten the mood. Playing all the other men on Ida’s journey is Luis Vega, who does an impressive job of bringing each of his roles to to distinctive life. Although the playwright flattens time and includes elements of magic realism in her play play, these artful flourishes really don’t contribute much, if only to vaguely suggest that misogyny has long permeated the history of Judaism. Director Daniella Topol does her best to shape a play that inherently lacks much of a dramatic arc (e.g., what exactly transpired between Ida and her husband to cause their separation, which seems to be the catalyst for the play?). Despite my qualms about the play, I believe that the keenly observant Ms. Vaynberg is a talent and personality worth looking out for.  

THE BANDAGED PLACE
Roundabout Theatre Company
Through December 11

Then over at the Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, you’ll find Harrison David Rivers’ the bandaged place (RECOMMENDED). The new play tells the story of Jonah (wrenchingly portrayed by Jhardon DiShon Milton in a bruised, achingly vulnerable performance), a dancer whose abusive relationship with his ex-boyfriend leaves him emotionally and physically scarred. Indeed, for much of the play, Jonah is left with a catatonic inability to sufficiently face life, much like Ida in The Gett. Also like Ms. Vaynberg’s stunted heroine, Jonah also regularly contacted – specter-like – by his manipulative and menacing ex (played with sexy swagger by Anthony Lee Medina), who still holds sway over him (in their steamy scenes together, the sexually-charged chemistry between Milton and Medina is scorchingly palpable). Before I get into the work’s flaws, I’d like to highlight that there’s actually much to commend about Mr. Rivers’ play. The playwright has a natural knack for dialogue; his scenes have the vibrancy and easy flow of real life conversation. Additionally, the performances – each of which easily find their respective character’s pulse – are superb, as is David Mendizábal’s sensitively staged production. Much like The Gett, however, the play’s individual scenes don’t quite create a satisfying dramatic arc. Indeed, besides a horrific incident deep in the play, the characters end up in an emotional and psychological space not too far away from where they began.