Theater review: ‘Dead Accounts’
4 / 10
In lieu of an engaging story, unseen people, including the sibs’ sick dad, are gabbed about while undeveloped thematic strands dangle. Ideas rise up about staying put in one’s hometown vs. leaving, buying into God vs. worshipping money and life in New York vs. the Midwest. After an hour, Jack’s wife, Jenny (Judy Greer, miscast as a model of urbanity), arrives and reveals that her soon-to-be ex has raided neglected bank accounts of dead people to the tune of $27 million. The huge sum is a device to reveal Jenny’s greed and to give Lorna an aria about why she can’t fret about banks getting screwed. Director Jack O’Brien can’t do much with the material, so he puts his energy into moody scene changes. And he cast Butz, who he guided to Best Actor Tony wins in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Catch Me If You Can.”
