Struggling inside two hours 20 minutes of The Atmosphere of Memory is an intriguing, black comedy-drama about a dysfunctional, primarily theatrical family. Playwright, Jon (Max Casella) has written a theater of the absurd version of his unresolved upbringing featuring, in various versions, a protagonist who gets paid to ejaculate on various objects (offer posted on Craig’s List), syrup-thick Swedish accents, togas, new lyrics to HMS Pinafore and a Nazi. Think “Springtime for Hitler.” His diva mother, Claire (Ellen Burstyn), is coming out of retirement to play herself; Jon’s girlfriend, Helen (Kelley Curran), plays his sister, his best friend Rex (Sidney Williams), acts as a musical narrator (ouch).
Into the mix, like oil on fire, comes Jon’s estranged father, Murray (John Glover). “I’m what you call a “deus ex machina,” he says, drunk, crude, cocky and scruffy as a street bum. Glover is having the time of his larger-than-life. “That guy is like something Greek Gods banished,” comments the lead in Jon’s play (David Deblinger). Convinced that he has blocked out or been shielded from a momentous event that occurred during a childhood he documented in endless lined notebooks, the playwright has invited Murray to stay with him in hopes of revelation. Claire is appalled, convinced her ex will sabotage at least the production. Verbal arrows fly.
Jon’s sister Esther (Melissa Ross) also on hand for the event, unsuccessfully does what she can to facilitate communication and peace, but ends up collateral damage: even more a victim that she congenitally feels.
There are some wonderful conceits—Jon’s secret delight in play—battling, collectable plastic super heroes, still in their packaging- Bam! Pow! Cachooey! Is a gem. And some wonderful writing, “You’re sitting here like a cross between Miss Haversham and Rain Man,” Murray comments archly seeing Jon with his piles of diaries. “I’m just being honest, the battle cry of the assholes,” Esther says to her father. Esther is a beautifully realized character, her own responses gut wrenchingly real and poignant. Only her desperate need for a father who demeans her is questionable. The enormous truth of differing perspective hits the target.
Unfortunately, buried in excess play-within-play scenarios, lots of unfunny, scatological passages and speeches that simply go on too long, the innate impact of the piece is ultimately diffused.
With Paul Kandell and Charles Goforth.
Director Pam MacKinnon uses the stage well. Frequent changes are handled fluidly. Pacing is as good as it can be with so much extraneous material.
Ellen Burstyn (Claire) is just as we remember her: focused, credible, and a pleasure to watch. Her multidimensional characterization makes the self-involved actress and mother sympathetic rather than merely selfish. Moments of anger, petulance, hurt and warmth all seem to arrive from emotional processing. Classical drama comes trippingly off the tongue and her laugh is terrific.
Max Casella’s Jon is filled with so much angst from the get-go, it’s difficult to tell whether the actor’s interpretation is overwrought or he’s responding to directorial dictate. Though more defined during the second act, the performance is a bit one note. The note is well crafted, but singular.
Melissa Ross (Jon’s sister, Esther) is able to convey a lot with a little. Esther’s frustration and pain, the legacy with which she struggles, is palpable whether embodied in a defensive plea or in a single sentence. Even her silences are compelling.
John Glover (Murray) personifies every bombastic, slimy, thoughtless, self-justifying quality of his character and then some. It’s impossible not to be both repelled and riveted to his every move at the same time. He takes over the room, the set, the play. Glover can act just about anything, but it’s infectiously clear he’s having a helluva good time with this one.
David Gallo’s Set Design is attractive and pragmatic. Sleek black leather and chrome furniture rearranges into a wide variety of spaces with minor additions and deletions never impeding the flow of the story.
Photos by Monique Carbon from top:
Ellen Burstyn and Max Casella
John Glover and Ellen Burstyn
Max Casella and David Deblinger
The Atmosphere of Memory
The Labyrinth Theater Company
Bank Street Theater
155 Bank Street
