But Jackman is far beyond simple. The night I attended, when the woman in line b began coughing loudly, it was clear that the man who played the enthusiastic, audience-capturing Allen (Garland's step-son) hadn't tried to leave her unavoidable. Freely, he offered her a bottle of water – and was ready to deliver it directly. She said no, but I was surprised that 400 other theatre people didn't immediately start hacking. He had them where McClem wanted Annie, and perhaps vice versa.
Negotiating a steep slope of powerful charm is hard to come by. Neither McClem nor Annie (she is not given a last name) are certain. He is a balloon that is blowing away life. She transcends the charm, power, psychology and class of over 19 years old. Her absolute age is not a gap in their age, but something Moscovitch wants us to consider. Annie is not yet a fully grown man. She barely has emotional things to handle her impulses.
I have nothing more to say except that I will see Annie again when she has it so that I don't ruin the clever work from the story. The aging of both her and McClem is quickly aging by the simplest means, such as posture, dictionary, changing her clothes, changing glasses for him. (The costume is by Astavenny Hoster.) You will need to decide for yourself whether or not one of the characters has grown or not. Is there any growth in revenge? Is growth itself revenge?
That's the thrill of Rixon's production. It doesn't tell you what to think, but in the great reward it gives you a lot to consider. Better yet, it achieves its reward with minimal fuss. The set (Brett J. Banakis and Christine Jones) only requires chairs, desks and lamps to place them wherever they need them. The sounds of Mikaal Sulaiman are primarily composed of faint music. There is no microphone. The actor's actual voice is in your real ears.
If this is a shoelaces theater, don't let the theatre wear shoes. And I'll wait for Audible X to come together to experiment with sustainable success, but at least until the next production, “creditors” with Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff and Justice Smith will open later this month, while “sexual misconduct” is a one-off proof of concept. These cheap tickets buy not only seats in Minnetta Lane, but also live conversation locations in the live yet thoughtful theatre. Plus, maybe a water bottle if you cough well.
Middle class sexual misconduct
It will be at the Minnetta Lane Theatre in Manhattan until June 18th. audiblexminetta.com. Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes.
