COINCIDENCES: (L-R) Jules (Louis Cancelmi), set to inherit billions, his grandmother, Loë Rieman (Olympia Dukakis), a Holocaust survivor, and friend Bill (Pierre Epstein) in Craig Lucas’s 'The Singing Forest,' in which everyone seems connected to every (Carol Rosegg)
Not for the faint of heart, this latest work by Craig Lucas contains some graphic situations and nudity, all of which works for the most part, thanks to a standout performance by Olympia Dukakis in the lead role.
In New York City, circa 2000, Gray Korankyi (Jonathan Groff), a young actor, is seeing two psychiatrists, Oliver Pfaff and Shar Unger (Mark Blum and Rob Campbell), in what is basically an extended interview process to see which analyst is right for him.
Gray, however, is not actually seeing the psychiatrists for himself, but rather for Jules (Louis Cancelmi), a reclusive heir to a $4.5 billion fortune, one which comes with strings attached. When Jules reveals his identity to Gray, the actor hits upon a scheme to pass himself off as Jules, therefore getting Gray some much wanted publicity and also eventually forcing Jules to come into the limelight—the doctors think that's what Jules secretly wants to happen.
Jules also has a mother, Bertha (Deborah Offner), who he hasn't spoken to in years, ever since she killed his father in a bizarre accident—something to do with fire and handcuffs. Meanwhile, Bertha’s mother Loë Rieman (Dukakis) hasn't spoken to either of her children (her son is Dr. Pfaff) in years, so haunted is she by the events that occurred in 1930s Vienna when she was a patient of Dr. Sigmund Freud (Pierre Epstein), in the days before and during the Nazi occupation.
Through a series of almost-too-strange-to-be-true coincidences (a deliberate theme in the play), we see the truism of the "six degrees of separation theory," where everyone is connected in some way by no more than six different people. Gray's girlfriend Beth (Susan Pourfar) works in a Starbucks where Jules, Bertha, and Loë all come in from time to time; and her co-worker Laszlo (Randy Harrison) knows both Pfaff and Unger, and their various peccadilloes. The two psychiatrists also have a long-standing feud, both professional and personal.
Starbucks is also where Loë meets Bill (Epstein), a recovering alcoholic who first saw her at an AA meeting, where she was trying to be forgiven for her sins. Gray, meanwhile, connects with Loë through an unusual phone conversation. All of this leads to an eventual no-holds-barred confrontation where tragedy and comedy play out side by side. Dukakis' secret is finally revealed, allowing a combination healing and growing process to begin for all.
Lucas has crafted an intriguing tale in this story about being able to forgive oneself as well as being forgiven by others. Yet the overall text is somewhat uneven, with the show switching from funny to serious too effortlessly.
For example, the final confrontation scene, with people jumping in and out of closets and trunks to hide from one another, seems over the top when they have all come seeking answers in the first place. There are also a few too many cutesy moments, such as Pfaff's reaction when he sees Jules (or thinks he sees him) for the first time.
Dukakis is so good in her role as a person still in hiding after more than half a century, she sets a standard some of the others aren't able to meet. There are also a couple of loose ends that aren't tied up as strongly as they should be. Still, the underlying mystery in the story and the strong direction by Mark Wing-Davey work well enough to hold one's interest and keep the story moving nicely for its nearly three-hour running time.
Ringing most powerfully are the flashback scenes in Vienna where Young Loë (Pourfar) falls into the hands of the Nazis, and one soldier in particular (chillingly played by Harrison)—scenes which are rather discomforting to say the least. (In a wise move, both Pourfar and Dukakis are used almost simultaneously in these sequences.)
Also ironic are comments by Freud that the Nazis would never march into Austria and, even if they did, the rest of the world would never stand for it. Knowing the falsehood of those statements in advance, gives a feeling of watching a head-on collision and being powerless to do anything but watch the resulting carnage.
Epstein works well as Bill and Dr. Freud, while Pourfar, Harrison, and Groff work far better as their 1930s counterparts (Groff playing Walter Rieman) than their more modern characters. John McDermott's sets, especially Loë's apartment in Staten Island, are quite good.
The Singing Forest (and what that title means) is, at its core, a strong story indeed, but the piece might have worked better without the slapstick elements and one too many coincidences tossed into the mix.
The Singing Forest
The Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street
Tickets: 212-967-7555 or www.publictheater.org
Running Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes
Closes: May 17
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London publication The Stage.
