Man and Boy

I have three really exciting shows to share my feedback on. Before I get there, though, let's talk about the latest Roundabout show! Okay, so here's the deal: I often like the shows the Roundabout does more than just about anybody. I liked Matthew Broderick's widely panned performance in The Philanthropist. I really enjoyed Sienna Miller in the deeply loathed After Miss Julie. And damned if I didn't get a kick out of the sappy Holocaust musical (you read that right) The People in the Picture. But even with those shows, I suspect that my enjoyment is intrinsically related to the fact that I only spent $10 on each. And even then, my expectations may have been lowered by the fact that it's the Roundabout. Still, even for $10, I couldn't get behind The Ritz or The Understudy (even with Zack Morris!) or Old Acquaintance or any number of other shows. Still, I stay in the $10 game for the moments when they nail it out of the park--their Waiting for Godot, The Glass Menagerie, Assassins, and Cabaret were all stunning. Of course, the material in each of those cases was exceptional. Give Roundabout an amazing show and they may well do an incredible production. Give them middling material, and they aren't going to find a way to elevate it. At this point, that seems verging on undeniable.

So where does Terrence Rattigan's Man and Boy fall? Well...they didn't knock it out of the park.

The unimpeachable Frank Langella plays Gregor Antonescu, a sleazy financier caught in a terrible scandal that may take him down. The implications are far-reaching, and on a pivotal night, he goes to his estranged son Vasili's apartment in the West Village to try to save his entire career, reputation, and holdings. The deeply moral Vasili has been hiding out under the assumed name Basil Anthony. Not even his longtime girlfriend knows his real past. Five years earlier, Basil took a shot at his father when he learned the extent of the old man's financial misdeeds. Even still, Gregor believes the boy doesn't mean him any harm ("He missed"), and it's apparent to those around on this fateful night that Basil still holds his father in high esteem. Perhaps too high.

A treacherous family drama in the guise of a financial thriller, Man and Boy provides many moments of black comedy and appealing (or appalling, depending on your take) seediness. Most notable is Gregor's plan to use his son as a pawn in a game of sexual cat and mouse with another financier. And Langella seems to take great pleasure in playing this decidedly despicable yet oddly sentimental criminal. The production around him isn't up to the task in spite of a handful of wonderful supporting turns--Francesca Faridany as his countess wife, Michael Siberry as his longtime confidante, and Zach Grenier as his business friend/rival all strike high notes. The younger cast members--Driver, Brian Hutchison, and Virginia Kull--seem a bit stymied by the decidedly more earnest parts they've been given, and I don't believe that's a matter of age or experience. Instead, it seems the production can't seem to settle on a tone. Everything is played a little too black and white, where it seems the joys of the play lie in its middle grounds. I found myself wishing the whole thing was played a bit meaner. For me, the highlights came in Gregor's interactions with his wife and his confidant. The depths of the cruelty on stage were plumbed, but the humor was never sacrificed. The show is at its best when it's at its most unsettling, and Driver, Hutchison, and Kull all seem to be playing their parts to garner the good will of the audience, effectively letting the air out of the show.

I'm not sure if Man and Boy is a great play, but I feel like there's potential for it to be greater than the whole I saw. From my one experience with it, which I will say was slightly unsatisfying but not at all unpleasant, I just wanted to see it more vicious. Right now, it feels like Dracula without his fangs--sinister but harmless. Hopefully as it carries on performances, the whole ensemble will find a way to engage in a bit more bloodletting.