The Art of Leaving
"The Art of Leaving", currently playing off-Broadway at NYC's Signature Center is, I'm sorry to say, an absolute disaster.
Author Anne Marilyn Lucas is desperately trying to write Neil Simon writing "A Doll's House" for modern times and it falls flat in just about every way it can. Lucas has few writing credits and seems stuck in the "Neil Simon Generation". I'm frankly shocked that this piece made it to the prestigious (and EXPENSIVE! Few shows ever recoup there) Signature Center.
The story is painfully, cartoonishly simple. Toxic male narcissist Aaron (Jordan Lage) is just past middle age and having an over the top crisis. He's become obsessed with a "red pill" esque guru promising men over forty their virility, freedom and happiness back if they will stick rigidly to his protein shake regimen, daily mantras and, oh yeah, leaving their wives. Aaron's wife Diana (Audrey Heffernan Meyer) is obsessively, vapidly devoted while still somehow being a brilliant part time art expert at a prestigious museum (she's never gone full time though - Aaron won't let her. She needs to be home to iron his boxers.) One night Aaron strews copies of his guru's book around his chic apartment and invites his parents, son and future daughter-in-law over, all in an ambush to get the gang to help break the news to Diana of their impending divorce. Most of the play is a cross generational debate about marriage - Aaron's parents Felix (Alan Ceppos) and Esther (Pamela Shaw) (who Aaron has WAY to close and infantile a relationship with) advocate for marriage at all costs, despite the occasional need to look the other way... Aaron's son Jason (Brian Mason) is a nice, well-adjusted feminist (how on earth did Aaron and Diana rase this guy?!) who is engaged to Caitlyn (Molly Chiffer) - a RAGING feminist who distrusts men so much she insists she will only get married if she and Jason have an open relationship - giving her a back up and security when Jason, inevitably, goes the way of his father. Jason, trying to please Caitlyn, is begrudgingly going along with her plan, but finally gives her an ultimatum - trust me, love me, or don't be with me. Ultimately right as Aaron has figured out that a divorce wouldn't really be in his best interest, (originally imagining kicking Diana out on the street and finding some nubile young thing to bring back to his lavish apartment, he's eventually brought back to reality when he realizes that the apartment is in Diana's name and he'll be stuck paying alimony while living in his parent's basement), and magnanimously offers to call the divorce off, Diana comes to her senses and insists they go through with it.
The essence of the piece is painfully obvious from the word "go". Diana needs to be convinced that "women can do anything" and why the hell has she ever been in a relationship with this toxic dusche of a man?
If this sounds like a fun parody - it's not. It takes itself as seriously and earnestly as a comedy can. Parodies require that the authors know more than the characters, and be ahead of the game. That is absolutely not the case with "The Art of Leaving." There is potentially a poignant story here - but that would require complexity and excavation (something Simon was brilliant at.) Instead it feels like we're supposed to be applauding the writer because she's bravely and controversially advocating...leaving men who are walking red flags? This is not as revolutionary or shockingly funny as the creative team seem to think it is...
The biggest missed opportunity is not having Aaron's guru actually be a character! Even off stage he's by far the most interesting person in the story, and it would open the door to providing some insight as to where these ludicrous ideas stem from in the first place (or is it all just a grift Aaron was too stupid to avoid falling for?) The real love story of the piece seems to be between Aaron and his guru and if they really wanted to crack the code on humor in this contrivance of a plot, that was the door begging to be smashed opened.
The show drags on and on. We don't like any of these people and, frankly, I spent the whole evening thinking that if the show ended with the apartment exploding and everyone dying I would feel like they all got what they deserved. Lage is by far the best actor of the bunch (he should be! He's a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and go to actor for all of Mamet's Broadway productions) and it's a miracle that he's managed to at least make Aaron feel like a human being (an insanely stupid and flawed one, but still...) and not simply a mustache twirling villain. Brian Mason, Molly Chiffer and Alan Ceppos acquit themselves...fine - I would be interested to see them in different material. Shaw plays the role as a caricature, and Meyer is flat out all over the place. Things aren't helped by the fact that several cast members at times seem to have no idea what they're doing. Lines are clearly being dropped, or skipped and sometimes it feels like actors have simply forgotten where they are - which seems a bit inexcusable for a piece that not only had a decent preview period but is a remount of a previous off-off-Broadway production. If they don't have it together by now... It's also, and I hesitate saying this, confusing to the story being told when the actors playing Aaron's wife and mother look like they're the same age (something that isn't a part of the plot.)
I'm frankly surprised that Matt Gehring, well-seasoned in comedy, directing the likes of Bowen Yang, ever agreed to take this piece on. His blocking is...fine and I don't know what else he could have done with the script he was given.
The best thing in the piece is the scenic design by Frank Oliva (WHY are the designers not listed with the creative team on the show's website?!) Oliva makes the Griffin Theater stage seem big - quite a feet. He's cracked that perfect "Millennial Grey" aesthetic and manages to take the disparate things we learn about the characters and assemble them into a cohesive physical space.
Dear writers - please STOP trying to replicate styles and aesthetics that were popular when you were first coming up in the industry - unless you are actually going to make them relevant. Stop with the superficial plots. Stop with the characters we're told we should like, but have no reason to.
Dear producers - stop throwing money at subpar work.
I wish I could tell artists like Lage and Oliva not to take projects that are beneath them, but no artist can be too choosy when offered an off-Broadway contract.
There is a certain demographic that will like this show - if you're over seventy and think the day you first saw "Barefoot in the Park" was the best day of your life, then give this a whirl. It's only an hour and a half, but you will leave feeling like you've had a full three hour outing at the theater.
Laura Sele
The Art of Leaving is currently playing at the Signature Center in NYC
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