Neglect

Not much has changed since I first covered Neglect last October. What playwright Sharyn Rothstein has changed is for the better: Joseph no longer has a gun, which makes him even more helplessly desperate, and Rose Anne Hayes, the elderly woman whose house he winds up attempting to rob, is no longer strong enough to put up a fight. I feel also that the actors -- specifically Geany Masai -- have only grown deeper roots and connections with their characters. I loved this show in '06, and I love that it's back now. I think it's a fresh, young play with vibrant observations made about the circumstances of the poor without all the polemic and proselytizing of the classicists. I also think director Catherine Ward has made the right choices, visually, in eliminating the hallway, as it concentrates everything within this cramped, sweltering inner-city apartment. The tension isn't just palpable - it's sticky and messy: check this one out for the phenomenal performances and natural scripting.

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