'Vengeance is the Lord's' World Premiere

Vengeance is the Lord's

By Bob Gaudini, Directed by Peter DuBois, Scenic Design by Eugene Lee, Costume Design by Mimi O'Donnell, Lighting Design by Japhy Weideman, Sound Design by Ben Emerson, Original Music by David Van Tieghem; Production Stage Manager, Carola Morrone LaCoste; Stage Manager, Leslie Sears

CAST: Lee Tergesen, Woodrow Horvath; Larry Pine, Mathew Horvath; Katie Kreisler, Roanne Horvath; Karl Baker Olson, Donald Horvath; Roberta Wallach, Margaret Horvath; Johnny Lee Davenport, Parcel Sytes; Trevor Long, Milo

Performances through December 12 at The Huntington Theatre Company, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-266-0800 or www.huntingtontheatre.org

The Huntington Theatre Company has made an unusual choice for its holiday fare this year with the world premiere production of Bob Glaudini's Vengeance is the Lord's, a family drama played out during a series of holiday gatherings at a dining table laden with traditional dishes, sparkling beverages, and conflicting emotions. There's never a day off in this family's business which repeatedly intrudes on their celebrations.

Paterfamilias Mathew Horvath (Larry Pine) is a small-time crime lord who looms large over his family of ex-wife Margaret (Roberta Wallach) and grown children Woodrow (Lee Tergesen), Roanne (Katie Kreisler), and Donnie (Karl Baker Olson). He continues to take his place of honor at the head of the table, carving the turkey or ham, and remotely directing the affairs of his business, while gradually relinquishing the operation to his cold blooded first-born son. Margaret is racked with hip pain, Roanne is unlucky in love, and Donnie, in one of Glaudini's best uses of symbolism, is "a vegan in a family of carnivores."  

The anguish that permeates the family, both pulling them together and tearing them apart, is the murder of another daughter ten years earlier. As they focus on the impending parole hearing for Myers, Cheryl's murderer, sides are drawn and sharply divided along the lines of forgiveness versus retribution. Believing that her physical woes are the result of internalized anger and hatred, the grieving mother seeks healing by practicing Christian clemency, while Mathew rigidly adheres to the philosophy of an eye for an eye. Donnie supports his mother and is the closest thing to a moral compass within this drifting family. In fact, when the youngest Horvath tells his father that he is planning to go to college to study Ethics, his statement is a blatant repudiation of not just the family business, but of the family, and a trembling first step toward independence in the real world.

In the world according to Mathew, family loyalty is all that matters, regardless of one's personal objections to another's behavior or beliefs. However, despite espousing that philosophy, Mathew sees loyalty as running uphill to him as the head of the family and has difficulty accepting any rogue opinions. Pine shows Mathew's controlling personality and an occasional flash of his humanity, but is saddled with too many speeches in which he pontificates ad tedium.  Woodrow is made from the same mold as his father, but, as is so often the case with the next generation, lacks a degree of humanity. Tergesen is credible as a creepy tough guy, but can't find any other dimensions in the character.

Artistic Director Peter DuBois and the playwright collaborate for a third world premiere with Vengeance is the Lord's, and DuBois gives high praise to the characters that Glaudini writes. "He creates deep, meaty roles for actors. This play is propelled by magnetic characters..." It is unfortunate that DuBois serves only thin slices while much of the meat is left on the bone. With the exception of Margaret and Donnie, both of whom are soul-searching for answers to difficult life questions, the characters are static and  provide few clues as to how or why they behave as they do. Wallach and Olson alternate as mouthpieces for the playwright and convey the internal struggles of mother and son.

Roanne is the kitchen slave and typical middle child whose role is to serve as placator between the parties. She provides comic relief sneaking cigarettes out of sight of her mother who thinks she has quit smoking. Milo (Trevor Long) is introduced as Roanne's married boyfriend in the second act, but he barely speaks and seems to have no purpose other than to be a whipping boy for Mathew's moralizing. Johnny Lee Davenport makes a compelling cameo appearance as Parcel Sytes, the father of a young black man who is sacrificed to a Horvath business deal gone wrong. However, the elder Sytes is merely a blip on the radar screen and more fodder for the ongoing family conflict.

Tony Award winner Eugene Lee's ingenious set design places the Horvath's home on a turntable, thus seamlessly enabling the movement from exterior to interior scenes and from one room to another. Whether or not this is intentional, it also contributes to the feeling of the cycle of life in this dysfunctional family as they advance robotically from one holiday to another, trying unsuccessfully to circumvent the gaping emotional wound in their midst. Japhy Weideman's lighting design is most potent during a storm-induced power failure when the shadowy nature of the Horvath family business is unveiled.

Despite the noiresque quality of the story, there is a generous serving of humor inherent in the family dysfunction. Be forewarned, there is also a heaping serving of foul language that, on occasion, feels gratuitous. Do all criminals use so much salt? However, the language is the lesser of evils in the Horvath family. They will not soon be confused with the Cratchits of Dickens or the Baileys of It's A Wonderful Life; there's nothing warm and fuzzy about these folks.  In the end, Papa Horvath shows himself for the narcissist that he is when, paraphrasing the Bible, he says, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." He hasn't suddenly found religion; change that capital L to lowercase and he's justifying his life.  

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson (Roberta Wallach, Lee Tergesen, Katie Kreisler, Larry Pine, and Karl Baker Olson)