THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ayad Akhtar’s ambitious, sprawling JUNK opens on Broadway

The company of Ayad Akhtar's "Junk" at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

The company of Ayad Akhtar’s “Junk” at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Last night, Ayad Akhtar’s eagerly anticipated Junk opened on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater. With his new play, Mr. Akhtar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the one-act stunner Disgraced, has penned his most ambitious, sprawling play to date. Junk chronicles the rise of the high yield debt market – that is, the “junk” bond market – during the money-grubbing, dirty-dealing ’80s, as purveyed by the fictitious Robert Merkin.

If the play doesn’t quite have the visceral impact of his previous plays (particularly Disgraced), Junk is a carefully-plotted and remarkably balanced piece of writing. Admirably, the play doesn’t shy away from the numerous details of the finance world – the complex concepts, the various players, the history – but instead embraces these nuances to fuel the drama. The result is a panoramic view of the financial system, as epic as any one of Shakespeare’s history plays.

Mr. Akhtar also treats Merkin, clearly inspired by Michael Milken, fairly. With Merkin, Mr. Ayad has created an Everyman of sorts – a fascinating approach that gives the work a unique perspective. What’s missing I think is just a bit of the sexiness and decadence that so characterized the era (depicted so irresistibly by films like Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. It’s all just a but too tidy, and the foreshadowing of the recent financial crisis I think is a bit heavy-anded. Nevertheless, Junk represents a brave and major stylistic departure for the fiercely intelligent Mr. Akhtar, one of our most important contemporary playwrights.

Junk is directed with the swaggering efficiency of a well-oiled sports car by Doug Hughes. It’s also slickly designed by a top-tier team: John Lee Beatty on sets, Catherine Zuber on costumes, and Ben Stanton on lights. Lastly, the acting is exceptional all-around, with Steven Pasquale leading a large cast, giving a sympathetic, surprisingly likable performance as Merkin.

RECOMMENDED

 

JUNK
Broadway, Play
Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont Theater
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through January 7

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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