Theatre review
Eleanor Pearson 21 Feb 2017 Odd Couple Find Friendship in the Big AppleSojourn in New York City. It’s the year 2000. Amongst the thousands of dislocated souls two lonely people find themselves thrust together by circumstances.
Pymble Players’ latest production, Visiting Mr. Green, by Jeff Baron, is set in a single room - the living room/kitchenette of elderly Jewish widower, Mr. Green (Dave Kirkham). It’s an intimate piece that grows around the evolving relationship between two starkly different personalities. |
As soon as the lights go up, we, the audience, find ourselves also in the tiny space that is Mr. Green’s Upper West Side Manhattan apartment. It’s dingy, it’s cluttered, the phone isn’t connected, and this is the old man’s entire world, following the death of his beloved wife, Yetta.
Ross Gardiner is played with earnest dignity by Dan Ferris. Ross is a young, up-and-coming business executive, with a court order to spend six months of community service helping Mr. Green. This is to occur once a week, after a traffic incident, where Ross almost hit Mr. Green with his car.
Ross Gardiner is played with earnest dignity by Dan Ferris. Ross is a young, up-and-coming business executive, with a court order to spend six months of community service helping Mr. Green. This is to occur once a week, after a traffic incident, where Ross almost hit Mr. Green with his car.
From the outset, neither one wants to be a fixture in the other’s life. Career-oriented Ross, who stopped looking for ‘Miss Right’ long ago, finds Mr. Green prickly and abrasively opinionated. At worst, Ross fears the community service may adversely affect his movement up the corporate ladder. Meanwhile Mr. Green is grieving for Yetta, the love of his life, and finds Ross’ immediate presence in his home intrusive, and even preposterous. As Ross puts it: “For now, we’re stuck with each other.” Doggedly, Ross perseveres in trying to reach the older man, and we marvel at his patience. As Mr. Green hungrily devours the kosher take-away meals Ross brings each week, a trust grows between the two reluctant companions, but there doesn’t seem to be much to connect the two, until it is revealed that Ross is also Jewish. |
By the end of Act One, it’s evident that Thursdays at Mr. Green’s apartment are more than just a fixture. They have become the only real human contact for both protagonists, each with their own character foibles, and stagnant relationships.
It’s notable that Mr. Green’s wife, Yetta, a character we never see, also has a stage presence. At first we hear of the idyllic marital relationship through Mr. Green’s eyes (“Never an argument in 59 years”). Later it becomes apparent there were secrets and divisions in their lives, and we feel for Yetta, who once shared this small living space with a hostile husband, and never complained.
It’s notable that Mr. Green’s wife, Yetta, a character we never see, also has a stage presence. At first we hear of the idyllic marital relationship through Mr. Green’s eyes (“Never an argument in 59 years”). Later it becomes apparent there were secrets and divisions in their lives, and we feel for Yetta, who once shared this small living space with a hostile husband, and never complained.
The Pymble Players’ stage space is fully utilised. Jennifer Willison’s realistic set, with its warm hues and intimacy, works well, and evokes a strong sense of time and place. In effect we feel we are inside Mr. Green’s apartment, with its strewn papers, and uneaten packets of Premium crackers.
There aren’t too many surprises in this warm-hearted play about two mismatched companions. But it’s a very watchable exploration of how friendship can overcome loneliness and prejudice. So settle in, and enjoy visiting Mr. Green.
It’s worth mentioning that the first matinee performance was interrupted by a hail storm, that drowned out the actors’ voices for five minutes before interval. Kudos to the performers who persevered through the storm. To the audience’s delight, we got a recap in the first five minutes after the interval, so no key plot developments went unnoticed.
Visiting Mr. Green plays until March 11, 2017
There aren’t too many surprises in this warm-hearted play about two mismatched companions. But it’s a very watchable exploration of how friendship can overcome loneliness and prejudice. So settle in, and enjoy visiting Mr. Green.
It’s worth mentioning that the first matinee performance was interrupted by a hail storm, that drowned out the actors’ voices for five minutes before interval. Kudos to the performers who persevered through the storm. To the audience’s delight, we got a recap in the first five minutes after the interval, so no key plot developments went unnoticed.
Visiting Mr. Green plays until March 11, 2017
The Pymble Players
Season: 15 Feb - 11 March Address: Mona Vale Road & Bromley Avenue, Pymble NSW 2073 |
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