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| Skyscraper Synopsis |
play reviewed by variety.com
Skyscraper" at first appears to be a zany romantic comedy but soon heads down a dark avenue of memory and fantasy. Playwright David Auburn skillfully introduces an oddly balanced group of characters whose lives merge on the rooftop of an old Chicago building marked for demolition. With a teasing and unpredictable narrative, the well-tuned ensemble carries the crisp humor through a deepening mystery.
Louis (John Wylie) is a 110-year-old man with faltering memory who encounters and attempts to save the life of an elusive beautiful young redhead (Marianne Hagen). In a nearby restaurant, an adventurous photographer, Jessica (Nina Landey), who has been injured while illegally lensing the interior of the condemned structure, consults her lawyer, Jane (Jenna Stern).
The latter is also somewhat of a sexual compulsive who lists her many conquests on a paper napkin.
Jane's subsequent seduction is aimed at Joseph (Andrew Sgroi), a former sailor and the irresponsible brother of Raymond (Jeffrey Donovan), the demolition expert named in Jessica's lawsuit. The first act flirts with time, with scenes flashing backward and forward, concluding with a suspenseful moment high upon a perilous perch.
The play (a natural for film adaptation) captures a sense of loss with the destruction of things past (a moment in the skyscraper's long history is revealed when a tragic and sentimental memory is recalled by the centenarian). Wylie is quite wonderful as the aged seer, his reminiscences bringing old Chicago gloriously back to life with picture-postcard clarity.
All performances are persuasive. Michael Rego's keen directorial hand leads the actors through an amusing maze of glass and steel, balancing humor with heart. Technical assets include effective claps of thunder and a Plexiglas skyline set. Scheduled for a too-brief Off Broadway run, "Skyscraper" deserves a reprieve from the wrecking ball.
play reviewed by backstage.com
In his Off-Broadway debut, David Auburn has written a play with an intriguing premise and an interesting middle. What "Skyscraper" doesn't have is an arresting beginning or a coherent ending. The first act is simply a device to get six people on to the roof of a Chicago landmark about to be torn down. Maybe a funny or meaningful comedy is hiding here, but now it adds up to very little.
Director Michael Rego hasn't helped shape the material or give the individual scenes much punch. Themes like our inability to appreciate our past or the unpredictability of sexual attraction wander around, crashing into each other every once in awhile. The ending makes no statement either way about any of them.
The actors are left adrift with a comedy that has been both underwritten and staged at a snail's pace. Each of the performers creates his own moments in which to shine: John Wylie as the 110-year-old man, Marianne Hagan as his lost love, Nina Landey as the photographer passionate about saving old buildings, Jenna Stern as her lawyer looking for love in all the wrong ways, Jeffrey Donovan as the demolition specialist who might just be their nemesis, Andrew Sgroi as his brother, an ex-navyman who can't adjust to modern life after three years on a submarine.
"Skyscraper" has been given a slick production. Michael Fagin's settings are possibly the most sophisticated ever seen at Greenwich House. Chris Lee's lighting and Johnna Doty's sound effects could not have been improved. Only Chris Field's costumes seem less inspired than a romantic comedy with supernatural overtones requires. As playwright Alburn can write believable dialogue and director Rego can move people around theatrically, expect better things from them in the future.
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