Fever Dreams - Theaterworks Hartford

Playwright Jeffrey Lieber, who’s show Fever Dreams opens the Theaterworks Hartford season, was a co-creator of the television program Lost.   Like that memorable drama, Fever Dreams is full of suspense, thrills, twists and turns.  And that’s all in Act I.  However, like the latter seasons of Lost, this production, directed with style and intensity by Rob Ruggiero, loses its mojo in Act 2.  The edginess and tension that carefully unfolds in the first half of the show cannot be sustained.  The play, though, even with its less than gripping conclusion, is still compelling and a show worth seeing. 

Lana Young in Fever Dreams.  Photo by Mike Marques.

The three-character play begins on a high note.  Zachary (Doug Savant, best known for TV’s Desperate Housewives and Melrose Place) enters a darkened, rustic cabin – a highly detailed, stunning structure from Scenic Designer Luke Cantarella - to be confronted by a woman, Adele (Lana Young), sitting in the dark pointing a gun at him.  Is it a serious threat or a playful joke?  In rapid succession, we learn they are clandestine lovers – think of a revved up version of Same Time, Next Year – with rendezvouses full of sex and well-kept secrets.  Lieber keeps the audience off-balance, climaxing with the appearance of Adele’s husband Miller (Tim DeKay, best known for TV’s White Collar).  Adele has conveniently, but temporarily, departed before his arrival.  The former best friends spar, argue and then there’s that gun.

Doug Savant in Fever Dreams.  Photo by Mike Marques.

In Act 2, the three characters hurl accusations and continue to scuffle all while one last secret is revealed.  Their symbiotic relationship, unusual as it is, crumbles as, at the end of the show, they move forward with their lives.

The playwright has a great knack for setting up attention-grabbing scenarios.  His characters, all flawed, are interesting and hold our focus.  The subtitle of the show is “of animals on the verge of extinction.”  Lieber utilizes a number of creature metaphors by biologist Adele to augment the plot.  They are thought-provoking, but slightly overused.  Director Ruggiero propels the action forward with straightforwardness and guile.  His work is greatly augmented by Sherrice Mojgani’s subtle, mood-setting Lighting Design and the ominous sounds of Lindsay Jones’ original music and Sound Design.

Tim DeKay in Fever Dreams.  Photo by Mike Marques.

The acting troupe is superb.  Tim DeKay’s Miller is boisterous, fearsome and maybe a touch off-kilter.  The actor, a seasoned film and theater professional, prowls the stage with willful determination and despondency.  Doug Savant’s Zachary is more reactive than instigator for the dramatic ebb and flow of the show.  But he performs the role with passion and resolve that teeters between inquisitory to heartbreak.  Lana Young’s Adele, cloaked in mystery and a steadfast feistiness, is the provocateur among the three protagonists.  She brings both an impish cheekiness and brazen impudence to her character. 

Fever Dreams, playing at Theaterworks Hartford through November 3.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

The Shark is Broken - Playhouse on Park

One of the most defining movies in film history – Jaws – is the subject of the three-person play, The Shark is Broken.  The show is co-written by Joseph Nixon and Ian Shaw, the son of Robert Shaw, who memorably played the crusty, irascible character Quint in the big-screen picture.  The play imagines the interactions, tensions and musings of the movie’s three stars - Richard Dreyfuss (Jake Regensburg), Roy Scheider (Nicolas Greco) and Robert Shaw (John D. Alexander).  They emote, yell, curse, and reflect on a wide range of topics.  Their primary beef is with the production delays and the boredom of waiting around for either favorable weather conditions or repairs to the constantly malfunctioning mechanical shark.

 

John D. Alexander, Jake Regensburg, and Nicolas Greco in The Shark is Broken.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

The 95-minute, intermission-less, production is basically a constant gabfest – three characters aboard a cramped, floating fishing boat. Director Joe Discher continually applies subtle alterations to the action on stage to keep the encounters and skirmishes fresh and varied.  He has the three clambering onboard to start scenes, which are staged in partial blackout.  At one point the hard-drinking Shaw climbs atop the Orca (the vessel’s name), face to the wind, almost challenging the elements to a fight.  In another scene, a very buff Nicolas Greco strips down to his skivvies for a quick bit of sunbathing.  All these maneuverings are diverting, at best, but still don’t mask the fact that The Shark is Broken, even for diehard Jaws fans like myself, can feel tedious and strained.

Nicolas Greco in The Shark is Broken.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

 

Each of the three cast members has brought their characters to believable life.  Jake Regensburg truly embodies the actor Richard Dreyfuss, with his self-doubts and vainness, nervous energy and histrionics.  He would be a touch more effective if he slowed down his delivery.   John D. Alexander delivers a crusty, hardscrabble performance as Robert Shaw.  His monotone leveled speech about the disaster met by the USS Indianapolis in World War II is riveting. Nicolas Greco’s Roy Scheider rests somewhere between the other two performers.  He brings a mellowness and low-key portrayal that helps balance the production.

John D. Alexander and Jake Regensburg in The Shark is Broken.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

 

The Orca set, by Scenic Designer Johann Fitzpatrick, is sizeable and detailed, but a tad too cluttered.  The pool of water in front of the mock-up ship, while providing the illusion of the ocean, wasn’t really necessary.  Fitzpatrick’s Lighting Design, with its muted sunsets and brightly radiating thunderstorm, greatly augment the production.  The thunderstorm scene, brief as it is, is greatly enhanced by the thunderous claps devised by Sound Designer Sean McGinley.

 

The Shark is Broken, running through October 20 at Playhouse on Park.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.