Punch

Punch completely blew me away, as it did the people I saw it with. A wild, disaffected young man, Jacob, punches another young man, James, for no particular reason. That one punch kills James. James's parents, particularly his mother, become interested in Jacob, who he is, why he did what he did, and who he might become. Astonishingly enough, this is based on a true story.

Sam Robards, Victoria Clark, 
Camila Canó-Flaviá, Will Harrison
Photo: Matthew Murphy

At first, the play, written by James Graham and directed by Adam Penford, practically explodes on stage as Jacob and his friends wreak havoc as a lifestyle. The production is tremendously physical (movement by Leanne Pinder), and Jacob's lostness and stupidity seize the audience. The presentation is so vivid that it's hard not to feel part of all that happens.

Will Harrison
Photo: Michael Murphy

The superb play is supported brilliantly by an excellent cast, led by Will Harrison as Jacob. Harrison is both large and subtle, full of energy and quieted by pain, with an English accent so convincing that many people (myself included) assume that he's from the original cast in London. (The dialect coaches are Ben Furey and Charlotte Fleck.) It is a truly great performance.

The rest of the cast includes Victoria Clark and Sam Robards, both deeply real, as Jacob's parents. The other performers are Camila Canó-Flaviá, Cody Kostro, Piter Marek, and Lucy Taylor, all solid in multiple parts. 

To my surprise, a number of reviewers were lukewarm about Punch, comparing it to an afterschool special. I  think they missed the forest for the trees.

Wendy Caster

Torera

Torera vividly depicts the life of Elena, the daughter of the housekeeper in the house of a great torero, who desperately wants to be a bullfighter. The son of the torero is Elena's best friend, and he has access to all of the training and equipment that Elena craves.  

Jacqueline Guillen and the Company of Torera
 Photo: Joan Marcus

With its intriguing concept, excellent acting, imaginative direction, beautiful scenery and costumes, strong writing, and alluring dance, the show has much to offer. The whole, unfortunately, is a bit smaller than the sum of the parts, as the production occasionally drags, the plot is predictable, and the bullfighting scenes fail to evoke a sense of danger. Also, there is a hole in the entire premise, which would be a spoiler to share, but it definitely lessens the impact of the show. However, because of its very real strengths, I'm glad I saw it.

Wendy Caster

• Playwright: Monet Hurst-Mendoza 
• Direction and choreography: Tatiana Pandiani 
• Cast: Jorge Cordova, Christian Jesús Galvis, Jacqueline Guillén, Elena Hurst Pastora, Jared Machado, Andrea Soto
• Set design: Emmie Finckel
• Costume design: Rodrigo Muñoz
• Lighting design: Yuki Nakase Link
• Sound design and composition: G Clausen
• Movement and intimacy coordinators: Carter Gill, Skye Bronfenbrenner
• Bullfighting consultant: Rodrigo Ortiz

This Is Government

At the start of This Is Government, written by Nina Kissinger and directed by Sarah Norris, three young adults sit in a drab congressional office (nicely realized by Daniel Allen). Against the back wall are a dozen or so file cabinets, some piled horizontally on others. Kaz, the badly paid staff assistant, is busy working; the other two, Emi and Tip, even worse paid interns, are pretty much farting around. 

In front: Vann Dukes, Kleo Mitrokostas, Charles Hsu.
In back: Susan Lynskey.
Photo: Burdette Parks

While Kaz (the excellent Vann Dukes) tries to convince the interns to demonstrate even a hint of professionalism, Emi and Tip remain focused on why the supposedly decent congressman they work for seems to be turning his back on an important health bill (Kaz says it's just political maneuvering). They also talk a lot about Stevie, a frequent caller desperate for a few minutes with the congressman. She also wants to chat, and Tip enjoys their conversations. Stevie has only good things to say about "the phone people."

This beginning of the play is reasonably interesting but generic. The banter is only occasionally amusing, and the uneven acting doesn't add much. 

Then a lockdown is announced in response to a threat to the Capitol. Kaz, Emi, and Tip are stuck in their small office for hours with little in the way of food or comfort. Even after the Capitol is evacuated of congresspeople, the people in the other buildings--the nobodies, like this threesome--remain locked in. 

To their astonishment, it turns out that Stevie is the source of the threat. Until now the audience has only heard about Stevie, but now we get to meet her--and now the show really starts. Playwright Kissinger does her best writing for Stevie, making her real in a way the others just aren't. In addition, Susan Lynskey's performance as Stevie is extraordinary, full of humanity, subtle, and perfectly pitched. Just watching Lynskey do her stuff is by far the highlight of the evening.

This Is Government is reasonably good--there's some funny stuff, nice moments, and entertaining direction, with an underlying desire to say real, important, things about  politics. But the show would be far more powerful, I think, if the interns were more fully developed and the opening section were cut in half. 

Wendy Caster