The Trunk
Written by Jon Seresi; Directed by Anthony Misiano
Presented by Writer’s Desk Entertainment
The Flea | 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
March 28th to April 12th
“But shitty shoes? They will give you away. Cause you can’t fake shoes.” Truer words haven’t been said. The same is true in theatre. You can have all the fancy design you want, but if the script isn’t good, you have no show. So, I can only imagine the joy at the first table read of this new play as it is pure gold.
You enter to Scott Aronow’s meticulously detailed set. Immediately, you know so much about this apartment and its occupant. The skylight has definitely leaked over the years. The dustless spot from the missing photo tells us the missing item has been there for ages. It’s by no means dirty, but definitely disheveled. Well placed post-it notes reminded me of that time a friend went through her positive affirmation phase where she had reminders throughout her home. The vintage table lamp stands out as that item you’ve had for ages and made many moves. The furniture is nice, comfortable but not new. And the odd angles tell you that this is a basement “garden” apartment in NYC. All this before the lights go down at the top of the show.
Enter Johnny (David John Phillips) and Asher (Luke Surretsky) in a moment resemblant of the famous “PIVOT!” scene of Friends, with The Trunk. The trunk will be center stage for good reason - a Pandora’s Box of sorts, once opened no one’s life will be the same. It holds treasures of the past – the things you can never part with – but perhaps, don’t want outliving you. Johnny is moving out of his apartment of 20 plus years, and needs to go through it. Asher, a friend’s son, has been hired, at top dollar, to help do the heavy lifting and sorting.
Johnny was a playwright and screenwriter, and Asher’s mother, Maggie (Maggie Champagne) was his student turned director turned best friend. Asher quickly learns that Johnny's memory is failing. Johnny isn't moving. He's getting his life in order before he can't remember how to. Maggie returns from the set of her latest A-list film to find Johnny, who has been ignoring her calls, in complete shambles. Annie Garrett-Larsen’s lighting design keeps us well aware of the times of day, and in keeping with the sundowning that overtakes Johnny. And, like the rest of her life, Maggie is making plans to bring order to the chaos.
The cast is simply superb. They are all on a roller coaster to the unknown in this play. David John Phillip's performance as the witty wordsmith losing his mind is gut wrenching. He is in one moment present and acerbic and the next a lost child in a panic. Luke Surretsky's Asher learns to ride the waves of present and past better than Champagne's Maggie. As Maggie's past is pulled from the trunk, they both give riveting performances. The savvy direction of Anthony Misiano heightens the work of the ensemble until there isn’t a dry eye in the house.
This is a world premiere of a play that should be around for a very long time. But you only get one chance of saying you saw it first!
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on March 30th, 2025. All rights reserved.