(left to right) David Cromer, Tasha Lawrence, Lily McInerny, and Uly Schlesinger in Ruby Thomas’s The Animal Kingdom, directed by Jack Serio.
There are few theatrical experiences more thrilling than witnessing a new play catch fire and mesmerize an audience. That experience is now to be had at the Connelly Theater Upstairs, where British playwright Ruby Thomas’s airtight 80-minute drama, The Animal Kingdom, is making its U.S. premiere. Tautly directed by Jack Serio, it’s a show that is emotionally gripping and ultimately redemptive.
The play takes place over the course of six therapy sessions. Shepherded by a psychotherapist, a struggling family of four attempt to find new ways to communicate. Although it’s the 21 year-old college student Sam (Uly Schlesinger), who’s in a recovery treatment program at an inpatient clinic, it soon becomes evident that the other family members also have unresolved problems: Sam’s mother Rita (Tasha Lawrence) has bouts of depression that she describes as her “duvet days;” his father Tim (David Cromer) is the strong, silent type who finds it difficult to express his emotions to loved ones; and Sam’s 18-year-old sister Sophia (Lily McInerny) feels that she is living in the shadow of Sam’s mental illness.
If the family is being buffeted by the headwinds of life, it’s the therapist Daniel (Calvin Leon Smith) who’s the eye in the storm, serving as a sturdy anchor throughout. In fact, when he invites the group to give their opening statements at the first session, he simply says: “Can be brief. Doesn’t have to be Shakespeare.” When he finds that they are still holding back, he reassures them that the clinic’s “family system” approach has worked well in the past. Or as he puts it:
Lawrence plays Rita, and Schlesinger is Sam in The Animal Kingdom, a hyper-intimate show performed for only 50 persons a night at the Connelly Theater Upstairs.
“I know this might not always be easy. We might have to say difficult things, hear difficult things. But in my experience the family system, as we call it, is such an important one.”
Whereas so many sets can be like obstacle courses for the actors, Wilson Chin’s minimalist set is simplicity itself. There’s five gray chairs widely spaced apart in an empty room with a two-way mirror on one side, exactly capturing the aridity of an inpatient clinic. Add Stacey Derosier’s bright lighting that washes over the stage and the audience’s seating area and one has theater at its most intimate.
Serio’s staging of The Animal Kingdom is similar to his mounting of Uncle Vanya in private loft this past summer. Only 50 persons a night attend the show, transforming the event into a tight-knit communal experience.
The title is a reference to Sam’s affinity—and compassion—for animals. His mom, in fact, recounts the time when Sam rescued and nurtured an injured bird when he was only 9 years-old. Even though she discovered that the bird had later died, and then lied to Sam that it had flown away, Sam continued to be fascinated by animals and became a zoology student at college.
Serio’s production moves like the wind. He achieves changes of scenes by lowering the lights and having characters reposition themselves in the room, allowing the audience to view them from multiple perspectives. While at first blush this might seem like superfluous stage business, it actually becomes a physical manifestation of the changing family dynamic from one session to the next.
The acting is top drawer, with two standouts in this inspired cast: Cromer, as Sam’s father Tim, has little to say during the six sessions (“I speak when I have something to say”) but knows how to make each word count. What’s more, Cromer has all eyes on him as he gives a paternal hug to Sam in session 4. Not only is this a tribute to Cramer’s nuanced physical acting, but it underscores the fact that theater’s power goes far beyond the spoken word.
McInerny as Sophia. Photographs by Emilio Madrid.
The other standout is Schlesinger, playing the role of Sam with much physicality. Whether Schlesinger is sharing his feelings about being queer or expounding upon the migration habits of swifts, he hits the bull’s-eye when it comes to portraying a troubled youth who relates better to animals than people.
Everybody walks on eggshells when it comes to naming the reason for Sam being at the clinic. But in the penultimate session, after Sam has shared that he no longer wants to wear long sleeves to conceal his self-harm scars, Sophia angrily blurts out: “I just feel like we’ve talked about everything but. . . . the thing.” Suffice it to say that Sophia opens up a floodgate of pent-up emotions. But, as she, and the rest of the family, painstakingly begin to discuss “the thing,” they collectively make the first steps toward repairing the family breakdown.
The Animal Kingdom speaks with refreshing honesty to a number of issues that confront families today: mental health, queerness, and how difficult it can be to communicate with one’s nearest and dearest. No question that Thomas pushes the dramatic envelope in an exhilarating new direction with The Animal Kingdom. She’s a fresh vibrant voice in the theater and one can only wonder what she will conjure up next.
The Connelly Theater production of The Animal Kingdom plays through Feb. 10 at the Connelly Theater Upstairs (220 E. 4th St., Manhattan). Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (220 E. 4th St., Manhattan), with an additional performance at 2:30 pm on Feb. 4. For tickets and more information, visit animalkingdomplay.com.
Playwright: Ruby Thomas
Director: Jack Serio
Sets: Wilson Chin
Lighting: Stacey Derosier
Costumes: Ricky Reynoso
Sound: Christopher Darbassie
