NEW YORK—Memories can define a person’s life. They can provide comfort in times of stress, assist in making future decisions, and provide a crucial link to the past. They can also consume you until they become the only thing you have left. Such is the case in “I Need That,” the new Broadway play by Theresa Rebeck, presented by Roundabout Theatre Company.
‘I Need That’
Septuagenarian Sam (Danny DeVito), who hasn’t stepped outside of his home in close to three years, lives in a house in New Jersey packed with mementos from his past. From bottle caps of soda he sold as a boy to bingo chips from a church where he used to help out to a color television his father tried to assemble, not to mention books, board games, and magazines galore. Many of these items also come with a lengthy story, as he explains the remembrances they each hold. Sam’s audience consists of his daughter Amelia (Lucy DeVito, DeVito’s real-life daughter) and his long-time friend Foster (Ray Anthony Thomas).Amelia, however, has more pressing matters than her father’s reminisces. Sam’s lifelong packrat habits have gotten worse in recent years. Plus, his continual refusal to maintain his lawn or get rid of anything he owns has provoked the ire of one of his neighbors, who has complained to the authorities.
