Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Taylor Mac’s lopsided but oddly moving GARY is more than salvaged by a trio of boldly comic performances

• By drediman
• May 21, 2019
• No Comments

Nathan Lane in Taylor Mac’s “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” at the Booth Theatre. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

There’s little doubt in my mind that Taylor Mac will go down in history as one of the most important theater artists of judy’s (i.e., Taylor Mac’s chosen pronoun) generation. judy’s 24-hour concert chronicling the history of America and American pop music at St. Ann’s Warehouse – I was lucky to have at the glorious event in person – is already the stuff of legend (judy occasionally performs segments of the concert, but has pronounced that they will never perform it again in its entirety), and a number of judy’s plays (particularly the provocative Hir) are notable for exuberantly capturing the shifting queer cultural zeitgeist. It was therefore with great curiosity and excitement that I approached Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, Taylor Mac’s continuation of Titus Andronicus, perhaps the bloodiest and most absurd of all of Shakespeare’s plays.

It’s taken me a while to process the odd little play currently playing on Broadway at the Booth Theatre. In terms of plot, really not much happens. Subsequent to the bloody events of Titus Andronicus, a political coup instigates further bloodshed, resulting in the mass murder of many Roman citizens. Tasked with cleaning up the carnage are three “nobodys” – a maid, a clown, and a midwife. In its absurdism and Shakespearean underlying, Gary calls to mind Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly loopy 1966 play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. However, judy’s play lacks the earlier work’s dazzling narrative structure and verbal pyrotechnics. However, what Gary does have going for it is a simple but important function, which is to highlight the human capacity for hope even in the most dire of circumstances, particularly as inspired by art. Even if it takes an incessant barrage of off-color – to some (including myself), at times off-putting – shenanigans (much of it in verse, no less) for the playwright to finally make judy’s point, I was oddly but genuinely moved after being frustrated by much of the play.

The play has been given a visually sumptuous production by revered veteran director George C. Wolfe (the elaborate, witty set design is by the talented Santo Loquasto). As for the acting, you’ll either love or hate the over-the-top antics of Nathan Lane (the titular clown), Kristine Nielsen (the maid), and Julie White (the midwife). For me, these great actors’ trio of outrageous performances is the rare case of more is actually more. Indeed, although I have misgivings about judy’s play, these three often had me in stitches with their bold comic choices, distracting me from the text’s woeful lopsidedness. They more than salvage judy and Mr. Wolfe’s head-scratching but fascinating Broadway enterprise. In particular, Ms. White – a Tony-winner for her scene-stealing performance in Douglas Carter Beane’s 2006 comedy The Little Dog Laughed – is giving one of the flat out most hilarious performances of the year.

RECOMMENDED

GARY: A SEQUEL TO TITUS ANDRONICUS
Broadway, Play
Booth Theatre
1 hour, 35 minutes (without an intermission)
Through August 4