BWW Reviews: Faith and Absolution Sensitively Questioned in GRAND CONCOURSE

Like the Bronx thoroughfare that inspires the play's title, the church basement soup kitchen where Heidi Schreck's touching new drama, Grand Concourse, is set is a place of convergence for a varied assortment of local denizens. And like that Bronx thoroughfare, smooth travels are rarely guaranteed.

The day-to-day food preparation is managed by Shelly, a pragmatic plainclothes nun who devotes all of her waking hours to cooking, cleaning and controlling the twice-daily chaos when dozens in need, mostly men, arrive for a healthy meal.

Shelly has been having doubts about her calling and has even begun to find praying difficult, using the microwave timer to help herself commit to minimum minutes of daily prayer time.

Quincy Tyler Bernstine offers beautiful understated pathos in the role; mixing tenderness and concern with no-nonsense leadership.

The story begins with the arrival of a new volunteer, 19-year-old Emma (Ismenia Mendes). Like so many before her, Emma tells Shelly that she wants to give back, but is soon confiding about her own troubles in life, making the sister feel especially grateful and protective.

Aside from doing great work in the kitchen and in the dining hall, Emma helps find a job for mentally unstable Frog (Lee Wilkoff), a gregarious elderly soup kitchen regular who is prone to occasional violent episodes.

Shelly's carefree assistant/security guard, Oscar (Bobby Moreno), openly flirts with the newbie right from the start (despite having a girlfriend), but he isn't prepared for how well she flirts back when they're alone.

Gradually we see how Emma's presence is shifting the dynamics of the kitchen and when personal tragedy strikes, Shelly is at odds with her vocation's tradition of forgiveness; her emotions revealed in a gripping monologue, perfectly acted by Bernstine with tense restraint.

The excellent ensemble is under the direction of Kip Fagan, who skillfully stages the playwright's incorporation of the daily chores of chopping and cooking on Rachel Hauck' realistically detailed set.

With sincerely expressed messages about faith and absolution, Grand Concourse is an emotionally gratifying evening.

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