Thoughts on Somewhere Fun

Last night, I met a beautiful gal pal at the Vineyard Theatre and we took in a preview performance of Jenny Schwartz's Somewhere Fun.  Before the show started, an artistic associate did a pre-show announcement and told us they had recently put a new section into the play and it would be tried out for the first time last night, so we shouldn't be surprised if someone had to call for a line.  OK, that's what makes a preview performance exciting!  So as not to keep you in suspense, no one called for line and we couldn't tell where the new section was.  Everything felt seamless, as far as we were concerned. 

Since the show doesn't officially open until next week, and they're clearly still making changes, I'll only offer a few thoughts.  I've never seen a Jenny Schwartz play before - I missed her highly regarded God's Ear when it played at the Vineyard a few years ago.  I've heard from several friends that they found her use of language and the playing with form very interesting.  I also heard from several other friends that they found her work to be pretentious twaddle.  I'm happy to land in the 'very interesting' company.  I found Somewhere Fun to be thoroughly fascinating throughout, if a bit frustrating on occasion.

Kate Mulgrew and Kathleen Chalfant star as two women who have a chance encounter about 35 years after they first met.  That's about as concrete as the play gets.  Everything else is a surreal, fantastical journey about connection.  Or being unable to make a connection.  I found the way Schwartz connected much of her fractured dialogue, and the lives of these characters, stunningly original.  Her use of repetitive speech, along with her peppering the dialogue with text from well-known novels, was terrific.  Hearing which words were repeated at different times definitely showed you the meaning behind them.  If that even makes sense.  And the way the play wraps around itself is so intriguing.

The acting is all first-rate, with Kate Mulgrew especially amazing in her opening monologues and Kathleen Chalfant stunned me with her final speech.  Both of them are at the top of their game, truly.  I think Anne Kauffman's direction is very well done, keeping everything crystal clear, even when it isn't.  :)   And the sets and lights were also grand, along with the very fun projections. 

I definitely think this is a play worth seeing; in fact, my beautiful gal pal and I are thinking of going back to a performance that has a post-show talkback.  We'd love to hear Schwartz talk about the method behind the madness.  I will freely admit that I did find the play frustrating at times - I would feel as if there was so much talking and it wasn't leading to anything, but then...it did.  It led to something quite lovely.  There were many in the audience who didn't wait to find out; the show has two intermissions and quite a few people walked out during them.  Admittedly, this play isn't perfect, and it certainly isn't easy, but it's totally original, enjoyably theatrical, frequently dazzling and well worth your time.

And, just as a postscript, stopping at Big Daddy's Diner afterwards for mozzarella sticks and tater tots, is also an excellent idea.  You can thank me later...