SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Water by the Spoonful, a CurtainUp Connecticut Review
| Water by the Spoonful won the Pulitzer Prize and in January of 2013 had its New York premiere at Second Stage. To read the review of that production by Elyse Sommer go here |
Water by the Spoonful/i>< reviewed by >Rosalind Friedman
| Fountainhead, welcome to the
dinner party. Granted, it’s a party we never wanted to be invited
to, but pull up a chair and pass the salt. Some people here may
pour it into your wounds. Just like you, we’ve all crawled on the
floor with a flashlight. . .But guess what? . . .For three days
straight, you didn’t try to kill yourself on an hourly basis. .
.you are in for the fight of your life. . .If you’re still in the
area and you have an emergency or even a craving, email me
offline. . .I know you can do this but I know you can’t do it
alone. — Haikumom to Fountainhead.
|
Liza Colon-Zayás, Zabryna Guevara, Armando
Riesco and Matthew Boston (sitting). (Photo: T. Charles
Erickson)
|
Many plays are issue driven. Water by the Spoonful, an interesting new play and the second in a trilogy by Quiara Alegria Hudes, is character-driven.
Hudes, who received a Tony award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for the award-winning In the Heights, etches each of her seven-member cast with painful precision. She also uses the internet to propel the action of the play.
Davis McCallum directs. Neil Patel’s widespread set lit intensely by Russell H. Champa accommodates the various locations — Philadelphia, San Diego, various cities in Japan, and Puerto Rico.
The story revolves around two cousins, Elliot (Armando Resco), and Yazmin (Zabryna Guevara) Ellot is an injured former Marine who is bedeviled by nightmares from his time in Iraq . He takes drugs and is as the play opens is caring for the unseen but dearly-loved aunt, Ginny who raised him and is dying of cancer. Yazmin, a first year adjunct professor of music is in love with John Coltran's music and tries to comfort Elliot. She is the play's only character who is not addicted.
It takes a bit to get into the rhythm of these disparate people with their unique user names. There is Japanese born adoptee Orangutan (Teresa Avia-Lin) whose real name is Madeline Mays, and Yoshiko Sakai before she was adopted. When she decides to travel to Japan to find her birth parents, she unburdens her heart to Chutes & Ladders (Ray Anthony Thomas), an African-American man who works for the IRS and has been deserted by his own family. Thomas adds wonderful warmth, which is greatly missing from this play. Though he advises Orangutan against going he courageously ends up joining her in Tokyo. Finally there is the wealthy Fountainhead (Matthew Boston), who feels he is only psychologically addicted, yet cannot confide in his wife.
Demosthenes Chrysan plays three parts. As the Professor, Chrysan has little to do but to translate a phrase in Arabic for Elliot, which seems to mean –Do you have your passport? We do not know why that question is being asked. As a Ghost, he is draped in robes and fights with Elliot to indicate the fear that the former Marine is experiencing. As the Policeman, he finds Odessa OD’d on the floor of her apartment.
While the playwright presents her characters creatively, she does not solve the larger problems that she puts forth: Her addicts remain to fight for another day of success, but there is no actual or over-arching plot.
The title, Water by the Spoonful refers to a terrible incident with Odessa and her baby daughter. It's one of a number of depressing moments, but things end on a hopeful note thanks to a surprise move by Yazmin.
Water by the Spoonful is a recipient if an Edgerton Foundation's new American Plays award.
| Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria
Hudes Directed by David McCallum Cast: Armand Riesco (Elliot), Zabryna Guevara (Yazmin), Demosthenes Chrysan (Professor Aman/Ghost/Policeman), Liza Colon-Zayas (Odessa), Teresa Avia Lim (Orangutan), Ray Anthony Thomas (Chutes&Ladders), Matthew Boston (Fountainhead) Set& Projection: Neil Patel Costume: Chloe Chapin Lighting: Russell H. Champa Sound: Bray Poor Composer: J. Michael Friedman Fight Coordinator: Thom Delventhal At Hartford Stage 50 Church Street Hartford, CT 06103 Phone: 860-527-5151 From 10/20/11; closing 11/13/11 Reviewed by R. Friedman |
|
Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note
from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with
main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous
locations. To subscribe, E-mail:
 esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.comput SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. Visit Curtainup's Blog Annex Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. |
Book of Mormon -CDOur review of the show
Slings & Arrows-the complete set
You don't have to be a Shakespeare aficionado to love all 21 episodes of this hilarious and moving Canadian TV series about a fictional Shakespeare Company
