Return visit to Describe the Night and other thoughts

I know, I know, I'm a broken record.  I enjoy plays by particular authors.  Sue me.  Sometimes, I just find it hard to believe that I know such amazing writers.  That these incredible creations come out of brains of people I know.  It makes me want to cry sometimes.  Moving on.  Because the Atlantic Theater Company is doing plays by two of my favorite authors this season, I bought a mini-subscription.  I saw the third preview of Describe the Night by Rajiv Joseph via TDF because I just couldn't wait until my subscription ticket night.  Which was a few nights ago.  I think he's still working, so I'll only offer a few more thoughts than I did before.

I've often said I love big, bold, messy epic plays and Describe the Night rather fits that bill.  It's three acts just crammed full of history and fascinating people.  Rajiv takes huge big ideas and leaps of faith, and turns them into personal, yet still universal, stories.  He tells stories using real people from history as a starting off point, but then weaves and molds and moves them into such unexpected places.  There is so much beauty and pain and anguish in Describe the Night, along with gorgeous writing and moments of joy.  As I said before, there is one scene that I truly wish could've lasted forever - the magic of the writing, the story and the acting was perfectly complete to me.  Not all scenes achieved that for me, though, but I think that's on me.

from the Atlantic's website

I've also mentioned ad infinitum that there are particular stories or plot points that I just don't respond to, or stories that just hit too close to home.  In the interweaving of the co-mingling stories in Describe the Night, there was one piece that my brain and heart just kept at arms' length, so it wouldn't hurt too much.  And I think that's what kept me from having as emotional an experience as I generally would at one of Rajiv's plays.  I can intellectualize that from a distance, I frequently have to.  But the parts of the play I DID respond to - truth vs lies; the responsibilities of storytellers; how we're all connected to each other in this world throughout time - were incredibly fulfilling.  I know I haven't really shared all that much about story, but the way the play unfolds is part of its pleasures.  I think you should experience it for yourself. 

Yes, Describe the Night features terrifically expansive and heady stuff, but there is also a lot of heart and humor in the piece.  At this second viewing, I think I noticed some changes in the opening scene, which made it even better than the first time I saw the show, and there was another scene late in the play that seemed to me even sharper and more pointed than before.  I love seeing the evolution of work, and I've convinced myself I could see where some adjustments happened.  I'm probably not that clever, but I like to pretend to myself that I am.  The acting, for the most part, is quite good (there is one performer I just couldn't connect to) and the physical design is first-rate.  I'm so glad I went back to see the play again and I encourage all of you to see it.  And I'm already excited about what Rajiv might bring us next.

I also saw another new play recently, but I don't really have anything nice to say about it, so I guess I'll leave the negativity off this page.  I do wonder, however, that if I knew and liked the playwright, would I have liked the play more?  Can I be truly objective for plays written by people I know?  I've already admitted that thinking about the talent of writers whom I call friends can make me cry, so...I wonder.  I guess it's certainly something to ponder.  Maybe as long as I continue to present my prejudices up front, that's enough.