"Dazzling"
- The New York Times
Adapted
by Bridgette Dunlap from the stories of Judy Budnitz
"Visitors"
and "Skin Care" directed by Bridgette Dunlap, "Flush"
directed by Alexis Grausz
Produced
in association with chashama and Collective PAST
August 2007
Featuring
Kathryn Ekblad, Diana Lynn Drew, Charley Layton, Madeleine Maby, Sara
Montgomery, Elizabeth Neptune, Hugh Scully, Jake Thomas and Jesse Paul
Wilson
Set
design by Emily French, costume design by Amy VanMullekom, artwork by
Rusty Zimmerman, photography by Christopher Montgomery
The
New York Times
August 16, 2007
Underneath
the Normal, the Nutty
By NEIL GENZLINGER
If yours is a normal family, it probably isn’t very normal at
all. We all know that family life is part facade, that a layer of
weirdness or tension or both lurks beneath the Kodak moments. “Long
Distance,” a program of three one-acts adapted from stories
by Judy Budnitz, captures family life as it is but isn’t: skewed,
unreal but somehow painfully accurate.
The adaptations, staged by the Ateh Theater Group at Chashama 217,
are by Bridgette Dunlap, who shows near-perfect pitch. The opener,
“Visitors,” which Ms. Dunlap directs, seems at first as
if it’s on familiar adult-and-grown-child turf: Meredith (Elizabeth
Neptune) is preparing for a visit from her parents and is a nervous
wreck. But when Mom (Sara Montgomery) calls repeatedly from the road,
apparently lost, it gradually becomes clear that standard-issue jitters
are not the point at all.
“Flush,” directed by Alexis Grausz, is a nicely etched
tale of two sisters with a mother who won’t get a mammogram,
but the program’s most dazzling entry comes next: “Skin
Care,” directed by Ms. Dunlap and featuring lovely performances
by Ms. Neptune and Ms. Montgomery, this time playing sisters.
Ms. Neptune is Amy, who is nervous because her younger sister, Jessica
(Ms. Montgomery), is away at college. It turns out her fears are well
grounded: Jessica contracts leprosy. Yes, leprosy. And from there
things only get more “Twilight Zone”-ish, but in a way
that leaves you savoring what a strange and powerful thing familial
love is.
