As one enters the theater for Greg Romero's play The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard, presented by City Attic Theatre, one is struck at first by the evocative simplicity of the stage picture. A white stage, three chairs, and two people, a man and a woman, dressed in black and grey, are slumped in two of the chairs like puppets with their strings cut. They stay this way till the show begins- another woman comes in and ritually describes with sand the boundaries of their world; then she sits in the third chair and begins her play.
The story of The Man (John Conor Brooke) and The Woman (Lucy Walters), as described by The Narrator (Dianna Marino) is unclear at first- it is told in bits and pieces, fractured like a kaleidoscope, so the audience only gets provocative glimpses and lines from their lives, which gradually build into a full picture. The Narrator leads the (her?) characters through scene after scene – The Man and The Woman stand at The Water's Edge (where they seem to be new-born, not sure of their identities). The Man and The Woman sit in a bar with beers in front of them (their first date). The Man and The Woman sit in their apartment. The Man and the Woman sit on a park bench as the sun rises. The Man and The Woman sit in their separate apartments.
The actors merely sit in their chairs, yet manage, with the help of Joshua Rose's impressive lighting and Andrew J. Merkel's direction, to convey a distinct feeling for each of the environments into which they find themselves thrust. We return to what are apparently the same discrete moments again and again, each time slightly different (at times it reminded me of a David Ives play), as the characters reveal more and more of their emotional lives, wants, and needs to each other and to the audience. These are nice, good people, who happen to be emotionally broken; they want to be hurt, they want to hurt each other, but most of all they are desperately in love, they yearn to break through to each other and touch but cannot. While talking to each other, they are forced by the theatrical convention to constantly look at the audience rather than each other, brilliantly emphasizing their emotional disconnect.
Mr. Romero has written a sweet, painful and ultimately touching play. He is a gloriously imaginative writer, and the play is both symbolic and heart-breakingly realistic. The play was selected from nearly two hundred scripts as the winner of CAT Tales, a playwriting competition hosted by City Attic Theatre last May.
As The Man, John Conor Brooke is adorable, full of giddy enthusiasm for whatever falls into his lap. As The Woman, Lucy Walters is, by turns, vixenish and wounded. Their chemistry is palpable. As the enigmatic Narrator (narratrix?), Dianna Marino is an ominous and strong presence, and god bless her for remembering the order of the scenes.
Though Ms. Marino was excellent, I wondered if having a male narrator would have been a more effective choice thematically, since males figure so prominently in the lives of the two characters. The play is also rather short- only an hour. I don't think this play could have been any longer without sacrificing something, but I was surprised by the time when I left.
I enjoyed the piece very much, and hope to see more work from these very talented artists in future. This company is one to watch.
The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heardby Greg Romero
Directed by: Andrew Merkel
Featuring: John Conor Brooke, Dianna Marino, and Lucy Walters
Runs May 24-26, May 28, and May 31-June 1 at 8:00 p.m., May 27 at 3 p.m., and June 2 at 7 p.m.
Where: Under St. Marks Theatre
94 St. Marks Place
New York, NY
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