Redemption Story
Written by Peregrine Teng Heard; Directed by Sarah Blush
Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at the A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street, NYC
Saturday, May 4 - Sunday, May 19
Christine Toy Johnson and Dee Beasnael (Photo by Travis Emery Hackett)
Redemption Story needs redemption. Described as a play “about alienation, conditional love and our distorted sense of self,” I could not bring myself to care for most of the characters or what happened to them no matter how much I wanted to like them.
As Eva, the proprietor of the diner where much of the action takes place, Dee Beasnael stands out as the voice of reason. She too had big LA / Hollywood dreams, but is now content to run her business. She watches and warns, but wants no part of the madness for herself or those she cares for. José Espinosa, Billy Jay, arrives in Hollywood as the corn-fed innocent who wants to be the next big thing in radio. As he is set on a path to stardom, whether he loses that innocence or is content with the use or be used lifestyle is left to question.
When you read the credits of everyone involved, you expect something outstanding. Tony, Obie, Juilliard, NYU, La Jolla, Yale - barely a name that hasn't been dropped, yet the folks onstage didn't feel like they were in the same play. Mumbling, film vocal projection was countered by yelling. Difficult to hear, and sometimes difficult to see in the film noir mood lighting, the audience was as quiet as possible to hear what was going on - except for the dear friends of one of the actors who thought they were hilarious. (I'll have what they're having?)
Quick fixes, speak up and brighten up (even incrementally).
Difficult fixes . . . . It was simply asking too much of the denouement to try to pull all of the tangents together. Introducing a character at the end, first in fantasy/dream sequence (I'm guessing that was what it was, given a magic trick with the coffee pot) and then in reality made me feel like this is a swipe at Agatha Christie who would conveniently leave out the culprit until the final pages so you could never guess who done it.
I believe new plays need lots of audiences. They are like plants. You need to learn what is going to make them thrive, and what needs to get cut away so its energy is used more efficiently. I see a lot of potential in Redemption Story, and maybe its home isn't the theatre. Perhaps the way to make the divergent threads take shape is a film or TV treatment.
There is a way to redeem the play, even if none of the characters redeem themselves in the end.
Produced by The Associates Theater Ensemble
Click HERE for tickets.
Reviewed by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on May 6th, 2024. All rights reserved.